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O.J. Simpson Hearing Over; Student Killed By Officer's Bullet; Cannes Shooting Suspect In Court; "Star Trek" Makes Less Than Expected; Man's Next Space Frontier: Mars; Oxbow Wins The Preakness; David Beckham Makes Tearful Exit; Carry The Load Relay

Aired May 19, 2013 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. A look at the top stories this hour.

The Midwest is bracing for a second day of nasty storms. Tornadoes touched down in some areas yesterday. And another string of severe weather is moving in today with hail, flooding, and more twisters. The forecast next.

And someone won the biggest Powerball jackpot ever. In last night's drawing, $590.5 million. The winning ticket was sold at a Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills, Florida. We'll go live to that store.

And in Long Island, New York, a family of a Hofstra University student killed by police is preparing for her funeral this week. In a few minutes, we'll find out how she was killed by an officer trying to save her life during a home invasion.

All right. Let's begin with that severe weather. Dark storm clouds are moving across the Midwest and the Plain states today, threatening areas with tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. Storm chasers got incredible video just like this of a twister touching down in central Kansas yesterday. One home was damaged, but no one was hurt.

And in Oklahoma City last night, rain blew sideways, lighting up the sky, as you see right there. Wind brought power lines down right onto cars as well, and fire crews had to rescue some of the drivers.

And heavy rain in Georgia turned many streets into rivers today. People in a town just outside of Atlanta told our affiliate WSB it's the worst flooding they have ever seen.

Jennifer Delgado is live in the CNN Weather Center. So Jennifer, this is a pretty sizable system affecting so many states.

JENNIFER DELGADO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Millions of people are affected by bad weather for today, tomorrow, and even into Tuesday. Now, for today, the area we're really watching is in the Midwest as well as the Plains. If you focus on the area in orange right across areas like Kansas City as well as into Oklahoma City, this is where we're going to see the greatest potential for tornadoes as well as damaging wind and large hail. Even in the yellow, extending up to Minneapolis, this is where the potential is for severe weather as we go through the day.

Now here's the radar. It doesn't look that crazy right now because we don't have any warnings or watches out, but it looks like we'll going to start to see the action firing up as we get to about 3:00, 4:00, and the worst of the timing is around 6:00 to 8:00. There's our area of low pressure right now just on top of North Platte. As we go through the next couple hours, this is the area we're watching. But that storm system has to go somewhere, and it's going to be moving over toward the east and affecting areas like Chicago, parts of the upper Midwest, into St. Louis, as we go into Monday and even potentially into Tuesday.

Now, Fredricka, we haven't seen a lot of reports on comparison to years past for tornadoes, but even yesterday alone, we had reportedly 14 tornadoes that touched down. Of course, survey teams still have to go out and survey some of these storms.

Now, for the Southeast, it's a different story. We're talking about lightning there, stronger storms, as well as some very heavy rainfall. Fredricka, show the video of the flooding that's happening in parts of north Georgia. If you look right now, you'll continue to see the flood threat as we go through the remainder of the evening. Some of the locations, Fredricka, have picked up six inches of rainfall. You're seeing the video there, Fredricka. I can promise you, we are going to see more video of more flooding coming in as we go through the next couple hours. It's wild out there, so again, people have to make sure they have that NOAA radio as well as making sure you know where that safe spot is in your house if tornadoes pop up in your neighborhood.

WHITFIELD: Great advice, and of course, as a result of all that stormy activity we have seen, there are flash flood warnings in effect already as well, right?

DELGADO: Absolutely. You're looking at them right now and it looks like they're going to stay through the evening hours, potentially even into tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: Oh my. All right, thanks so much, Jennifer. Keep us posted on that.

All right. Let's go to Connecticut now where railroad authorities are removing the broken rail cars from that terrible crash. A commuter train derailed and struck another train in Bridgeport two days ago. Nine people injured in the accident remain hospitalized. One is still in critical condition.

Our Susan Candiotti is live from Bridgeport. The commute tomorrow is going to be a mess. That's got to be the understatement of the weekend. But at the same time, there's going to be a news conference. What might it reveal about where the investigation is going.?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's the deal, Fred. We have two sets of electrified tracks out of commission right now and two key developments. First of all, the National Transportation Safety Board investigators are making progress. And number two, you also have massive repaIRS under way to try to get these tracks and this line back in service.

First to the investigation: they have recovered and begun retrieving information from those critical black boxes onboard both of those trains, which will tell us among other things how fast these trains were going and for example, whether the brakes were applied, whether emergency brakes were applied as well. They're also focusing on a piece of fractured rail, broken rail that NTSB board member Earl Weener tells me could be significant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARL WEENER, NTSB REPRESENTATIVE: It might be the initiator of the accident or it might be that it was caused by the accident. But there's an obvious break in the rail, and that certainly makes us very interested in it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: And that rail is going to be analyzed in Washington, D.C. at NTSB laboratories. Also, we're going to hear from them in a news conference to get more information about what they're learning from those black boxes. And that should happen later this afternoon, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Okay, and then let's talk about what that commute might be like tomorrow. What are the alternative plans being offered to people?

CANDIOTTI: Oh, people are already being warned. It's going to be a mess, very likely, tomorrow, Monday. They're already sending out e- mails to people who live in this area and advising people who live here to go to their website, Metro North Web site, and Amtrak's Web site as well because they also use these lines.

And probably they'll have to use buses, they're saying, to route people around this construction that's going on. And it could take days at a time -- days to complete this work because they have to replace 2,000 feet of rails. They then have to inspect them and test them. And it could take a long while. They're telling people they're going to need a ton of patience tomorrow. It's going to be a very long commute.

WHITFIELD: It is indeed. All right, thanks so much. Thanks for the warning as well. Susan Candiotti in Bridgeport.

A parade in Virginia turned to chaos. A car taking part in the parade suddenly plowed into the crowd. About 60 people were injured; 10 had to be hospitalized but their lives are not in danger. Some in the crowd actually lifted the Cadillac off a few people trapped underneath. Police say the driver, who wasn't identified, had some kind of medical issue leading up to that accident.

North Korea fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan this morning, according to South Korea's news agency. This comes after Pyongyang launched three short-range guided missiles into the sea yesterday. Tensions have been strained on the Korean Peninsula after the U.N. imposed tougher sanctions on North Korea.

All right, back in this country, you could argue this was perhaps the most difficult week of President Obama's, one he's faced in this presidency, particularly the second term. But you wouldn't know it by his approval rating. Chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin has some brand-new poll numbers.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fred, it's good news for the president, according to our new CNN/ORC poll. Fifty-three percent of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing. And that poll was taken after last week's tough week. It shows his support is basically unchanged from the 51 percent we found in our last poll in early April, and up from his low of 47 percent in mid-March.

Now, it should come as no surprise that there's a major partisan divide in these numbers with Democrats showing overwhelming support, Republicans highly critical, and independents, as always, split.

So getting into the specifics, on the IRS controversy that involves the targeting of Tea Party groups more than six in 10 say what President Obama said about the matter has been completely or mostly true. A majority, 55 percent, say the IRS acted on its own with 37 percent saying they believe the IRS's actions were ordered by senior White House officials.

Now, there's good news here for Republicans, too. Some political analysts have warned the GOP is in danger of overplaying its hand on these controversies. Well, let's look at the controversy regarding Benghazi. Polling shows on Benghazi, 55 percent say the Obama administration's inaccurate statements about the attack that killed four Americans is a very important issue. Nearly six in 10 say the GOP is reacting appropriately. And the drumbeat by congressional Republicans could be behind a rise in the number of Americans who think the U.S. could have prevented the attack in Benghazi. Fifty- nine percent feel that way now, up 11 points from last November.

Okay, so the big picture, we see that there is still a reservoir of goodwill for President Obama. Americans like the fact that he's responding to the controversies with outrage and action. But there's also concern about these issues and room for Republicans to continue to exercise oversight. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Jessica.

Coming up in a few minutes, I'll check in with two powerful analysts on the road ahead for the White House, its agenda and the GOP .

All right, Zephyrhills, Florida. It is now the luckiest spot in America. Someone in that town that lies between the Tampa and Gainesville -- look at the map there -- bought the winning Powerball ticket. The numbers, 22, 10, 13, 14, 52, and the Powerball number, 11. Will pay a record amount. Nearly $600 million.

John Zarrella is outside the Publix which sold that winning ticket. So John, have we learned anything about whether that person has stepped forward? Or the story behind that winning ticket?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, not a word, Fredricka. That's probably a good thing. If they're smart, they're consulting with attorneys right now. Consulting with attorneys and consulting with an accountant. And they'll have to go to Tallahassee to ultimately collect their winnings.

You know, we talked to lots of Sunday shoppers here. And you would be amazed at what they're saying about the fact that they didn't get the ticket and who is asking them if perhaps, you know, they might be a winner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Did you happen to win the Powerball?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's see.

ZARRELLA: Check the ticket. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, wasn't me.

ZARRELLA: Wasn't you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, that's all I got.

ZARRELLA: That's it, huh? You know the winning ticket was bought here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what I heard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard all the news.

ZARRELLA: You did? So you know the winner came from this store?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and I'm hearing from relatives all over the country.

ZARRELLA: Wanting to know if you have the winner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. That I haven't heard from in years. I told them, but you have to buy a ticket.

ZARRELLA: And you didn't?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: So there you go, Fredricka. People we talked to didn't even know the ticket was bought here, some of them. And others are hearing from relatives all over the country, hey, did you by chance have that winning ticket? A lot of long-lost relatives who they haven't heard from in a while.

(LAUGHTER)

ZARRELLA: And Fred, I bought one for next week. Only $40 million next week.

WHITFIELD: Hey, not a bad number.

ZARRELLA: But you know, lightning might strike twice.

WHITFIELD: That's right, that's right!

ZARRELLA: Lightning could strike twice.

WHITFIELD: Hey, all the best to you. Maybe we should all be following your lead and still pick up a Powerball ticket even though it isn't, like, you know, near a billion dollars. That's all right.

So, we don't know much about this person. You say when they step forward, it will be in Tallahassee. Of course, that person also has the option of whether they even want to make their name public.

ZARRELLA: Yes, what happens is by law in the state of Florida, once they come public -- he, she, them, how many, whatever, the group -- the name becomes public. It's public record in Florida, so they will be able to keep their privacy until they say, hey, I got the ticket. Then all bets are off. They'll probably need to just throw one news conference, get it out of the way, and then say look, we're done talking. Leave us alone. We're going to go buy a yacht and an island, and don't bother us anymore.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, right! Good luck to him or he or she. We'll see what it turns out to be. Thanks so much, John Zarrella, there in Zephyrhills, Florid. The lucky location.

All right, she said she is sorry. But the case against Reese Witherspoon, well, it's not over yet. We find out what's next in her disorderly conduct case in Atlanta.

And a promising young college student fatally shot. The gunman, a police officer. Details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama is weathering the storm of controversy surrounding his White House for now. However, under stormy skies in Atlanta this morning, Mr. Obama attempted to move the focus off the IRS, Benghazi, and the Associated Press. He spoke about the economy and health care in his commencement address to Morehouse College.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My job as president is to advocate for policies that generate more opportunity for everybody. Policies that strengthen the middle class and give more people the chance to climb their way into the middle class. Policies that create more good jobs and reduce poverty and educate more children and give more families the security of health care and protect more of our children from the horrors of gun violence. That's my job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So can the president change the focus from the recent scandals and controversies? Let's turn to Charles Blow in New York and Ross Douthat in Washington. Both writing columns for "The New York Times. Good to see both of you, gentlemen.

CHARLES BLOW, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Nice to be here.

ROSS DOUTHAT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: All right, so Ross, let me begin with you. The president seems to be moving forward. His approval is up, even after all these controversies were revealed. So does Washington move forward along with, or will critics continue to kind of rail about the scandals?

DOUTHAT: I think critics will keep talking about these scandals. I think the numbers you're seeing for the president aren't that surprising. The economy --

WHITFIELD: Are not surprising, you're saying?

DOUTHAT: I don't think they're that surprising.

WHITFIELD: Why?

DOUTHAT: Personal approval ratings tend to be driven more by the economy than anything else, and these scandals -- I think the public is right when they're asking do they think these IRS investigations, were they initiated in the White House? So far, we have seen no evidence that's the case. So, it makes sense the public wouldn't be turning on the president over them.

But the problem these scandals create is more of a problem for liberalism in general, I think. They create a narrative, understandably, of the problems with an unaccountable government, whether it's IRS agents deciding to target political groups they don't agree with, or Department of Justice officials deciding to target journalists who they're annoyed at for getting out ahead of a national security story.

So I think it's a problem for the president's agenda going forward even if the public doesn't blame him for it directly. Whether it's health care or guns or something else, you're going to have people say, well, do we really want the government that did these things, that messes up so many times, assuming more responsibility?

WHITFIELD: I guess of the three things it would seem Americans care least about the Associated Press and maybe of the three, most about the IRS. So I wonder, Charles, you actually wrote in your article, your latest one, you write that, quote, "For them, this is more about their scandal, less than what is scandalous." Perhaps these new approval ratings indicate that many Americans do agree with you.

BLOW: I think -- I mean, leave it to Ross to take a broad swipe at liberalism. He is trying to lay this case out.

But listen, I think the issue here is more that people genuinely like this president. They really do not see any connection with him and what is happening in a kind of backwater office in Cincinnati or wherever. Kind of low-level IRS agents who are doing whatever they're doing and making a scream that it's inappropriate.

And that scream, by the way, "The New York Times" reports today, also caught over two dozen liberal groups in that screen, a number of apolitical groups in that screen. This was not necessarily a government and its liberal agenda trying to weed out people. It was people, low-level IRS agents -- that's what it appears to be at this point, trying to make a screen and knowing that the Tea Party was a political group, and they thought that was a good screen. That is actually not what they should have done, but it does not even appear that they were being particularly political. They were just trying to do their jobs and trying to figure out an effective way to screen through these thousands of applications they were getting. It was only a handful of these people --

DOUTHAT: And somehow, they came up with the screen that just happened to flag groups with the name Tea Party, conservative --

BLOW: Right, as well as liberal groups and as well as apolitical groups.

WHITFIELD: Yes, because as we're seeing reported, the disparity is in large part because there were more simply more applicants to be associated with the Tea Party. But it appears as though, according to some of this reporting and evidence, the same criteria was being applied to all of these groups.

DOUTHAT: No, but look, here's the issue, Charles. The issue is that those low-level, mid-level bureaucrats, IRS officials in Cincinnati or wherever, they are the government. Right? I mean, this is the critique of the problems with expansive government aren't always about the person who is in the Oval Office.

In fact, David Axelrod said the other day, well, you can't expect the president, he has so much going on underneath him, you can't expect him to know what is happening in every office. And that's true, but the critique of expansive government is precisely that. That as government gets bigger, as people are empowered with sort of, you know, to deal with floods of applications here and floods of applications there, the potential for abuse goes up and up and up. And I think that's why this is an ideological problem for liberalism even if it isn't a problem for the president.

WHITFIELD: All right, Charles, last word. BLOW: But it's not a problem for liberalism. You have a government that is responsible for upward of 300 million people. Yes, there a lot of moving parts in that. You cannot expect one office in Cincinnati to represent the entirety of the government. That's just a false argument.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, gentlemen. You can still be on the same team but have differing opinions. And look, we can hear both of you clearly. And we appreciate the discussion. Ross Douthat --

DOUTHAT: It's always a pleasure.

WHITFIELD: -- and Charles Blow -

BLOW: Nice to see you, Ross.

WHITFIELD: -- thank you so much to both of you. Have a great rest of your Sunday.

All right, O.J. Simpson. Well, he says it's his lawyer's fault that he was convicted in a robbery and kidnapping case. He's trying to get out of jail, but will the judge buy his argument?

Plus, also in court again. Reese Witherspoon, her case. Well, it's back in, back on the docket this week. She's going for pretrial intervention after being arrested on disorderly conduct charges. So how does that work? We'll explain after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, back on the docket this week, legal cases of Reese Witherspoon and O.J. Simpson. We start with Witherspoon. The actress' case is back in an Atlanta court after being caught on tape mouthing off to police. Remember this?

(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)

REESE WITHERSPOON, ACTRESS: Do you know my name, sir?

TROOPER: Don't need to know it.

WITHERSPOON: You don't need to know my name?

TROOPER: Not quite yet.

WITHERSPOON: Okay, you're about to find out who I am.

TROOPER: First of all, I'm not real worried about your, ma'am.

(END AUDIOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. HLN legal analyst Joey Jackson and defense attorney Rachel Self joining me now. It's embarrassing every time you see that tape. All right, Joey, let's begin with you. Witherspoon has a status hearing on Wednesday. A, what is that? JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: A status hearing is just something to take heed of where we are in the case. Will it move forward, will it resolve itself? But the case will resolve itself and apparently has resolved itself --

WHITFIELD: How? What do you mean?

JACKSON: But more importantly, what happens is, she was charged pretty much with disorderly conduct. But it could have been worse for obstructing governmental administration. What does that mean, Fredricka --

WHITFIELD: Mouthing off to police.

JACKSON: Exactly. When an officer is doing their job, you don't impede what they're doing. I understand it's your husband, you love him, you don't want anything to happen to him, but when an officer says stay in the car, stay in the car.

WHITFIELD: Right.

Okay, did she also plead no contest, Rachel? If so -- OK. Why would she even have to be in this status hearing? Or would she?

RACHEL SELF, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, at this point -- well, yes, it was my understanding she had pled no contest to the disorderly conduct charge. However, it appears that her lawyer has since worked out this pretrial diversion, which is not a conviction. No contest is a conviction, and pretrial diversion is not a conviction.

The difference between pleading guilty and pleading no contest is that with no contest, you're not admitting you did anything wrong, but it can still be used against you as a conviction, still can have collateral consequences. But the truth of the consequences is under Atlanta law, there is a case called Woodward v. Gray, which is very clear that mouthing off to police officers, being obnoxious, so long as it doesn't interfere with their official duties, is not probable cause to arrest for disorderly conduct.

And I think that the prosecution in working out these deals of pretrial diversion will figure out whether or not it's something they're actually seeking a conviction for. With her having no prior record, the nature of the charge being one of the most minor misdemeanors you can get, and it's solely within the prosecutor's discretion whether they're going to issue this, I think it was an appropriate resolution.

WHITFIELD: OK. Bottom line, very awkward, very embarrassing because that tape will live on forever.

SELF: Yes. But not criminal.

WHITFIELD: You're right. Not criminal. OK, well good.

JACKSON: It could have been.

WHITFIELD: Could have been. OK, well, good for her it's not.

All right. Let's move on to the O.J. Simpson trial. We heard from O.J. Simpson last week, taking the stand for the first time in any legal case against him. The hall of famer looking really disheveled there. And maybe this is a last stab at trying to get rid of this 33-year sentence for a robbery, assault, and kidnapping. So he testified, and this week, it remains in court, or at least in session.

So Joey, what is likely to happen? Are we going to hear a decision coming from the judge? Could it come that soon?

JACKSON: You know what will happen is I think the judge will reserve decision, thereby giving her an opportunity to evaluate everything. You know, one thing that is clear here is that nothing is. Of course, O.J. Simpson takes the position that his lawyer should have told him there was a plea deal. Was there really a plea deal? Who knows? O.J. Simpson's lawyers should have cross-examined more effectively. He should have let him testify.

And of course, his lawyer tells differently. I told him all these things, he was a strategic partner with me. And he rejected the plea deal, he opted not to testify. So in sum, what ends up happening is it's a credibility question. Both of them, of course, interested witnesses. O.J. Simpson interested because he could go to jail, and his lawyer interested because he doesn't want to be deemed a horrible lawyer. So there you have it.

WHITFIELD: OK, so Rachel, real quick though, there has -- they have to prove or O.J. Simpson and his camp has to prove there was a plea deal on the table, and that he was not informed of it, right?

SELF: Yes, well, what they need to do, it's a two-prong test, Fredricka. What they need to do is show it's an ordinary standard of reasonableness whether an ordinary sailable lawyer would have made the same errors and then if they reach that, they need to determine that for counsel's errors, the result would have been different.

So in this case, obviously, if there was a plea deal and this lawyer didn't present it to O.J., that is ineffective assistance. You're required to bring any deals to your client and let them make an informed decision -- right, but I mean, it's phony baloney. He's a convict, he's in jail, facing 33 years, and it's phony baloney. I don't believe it.

WHITFIELD: Boy, all right, Rachel Self, Joey Jackson, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

JACKSON: Luckily Rachel is not the judge in that case.

WHITFIELD: Tough all the way through. All right, have a good one.

All right, a Hofstra University student is dead, and in a minute, the tragic story of how she was killed by a police officer who was actually trying to save her life. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tragic and sad story all the way around. Investigators are looking into the death of a Hofstra University student killed by a police officer's bullet, an officer who was trying to save her from an intruder who broke into her home and held her at gunpoint. Poppy Harlow has the rest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Authorities say it was a bullet fired from a police officer's gun that led to the death of Hofstra University student Andrea Ribello.

COMMISSIONER THOMAS DALE, NASSAU COUNTY POLICE: Let me start off by giving my most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the parents and sister of Andrea and Jessica Ribello.

HARLOW: It happened Friday morning in a home invasion robbery at the off campus house the 21-year-old shared with her twin sister and two others. Police went there after a 911 call from someone claiming the gunman ordered them out of the house to get cash from an ATM. When police arrived, they said the suspect was holding a gun to Ribello's head.

LT. JOHN AZZATA, NASSAU COUNTY HOMICIDE SQUAD: The officer eventually fired eight rounds in total. Seven of those rounds struck our subject. One of those rounds struck the victim.

HARLOW: Police say Andrea was shot in the head and died. Also killed was the suspect, identified by police at 30-year-old Dalton Smith who they said had an extensive rap sheet and was wanting for jumping patrol. Ribello was a junior at Hofstra University and was majoring in Public Relations. The news of her death is extremely hard for those who knew her.

JOVANA ALEJANDRO, STUDENT: She was like really popular. Like everybody loved her, she was sweet.

CAROL CONKLIN-SPILLANE, PRINCIPAL: What an all-around nice young woman she was and how she was looking forward to getting an education and going off to college and making something wonderful out of her life.

HARLOW: Poppy Harlow, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, when we come back, we're going to take you to the movies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here are some of the stories trending online. A man arrested at the Cannes Film Festival is appearing in court today. The 43-year-old suspect is accused of firing a gun loaded with blanks during a live television interview. He told police he believed in God and wanted to change the world, but a psychiatrist who examined him said he is not mentally ill.

A Danish singer has taken her country to the top spot in the euro vision song contest. She gave a breathy performance of "Only Teardrops." Millions of people across Europe tuned in to watch the annual musical spectacle featuring acts from 26 countries.

And all the anticipation for the new "Star Trek" movie seemed to fizzle at the Box Office this weekend. According to preliminary numbers, "Star Trek Into Darkness" pulled in a little over $70 million. That made it number one, but it's less than the $100 million it was expected to make. "Ironman 3" was second this weekend followed by the "Great Gatsby" and "Pain and Gain," and "The Croods."

All right, coming up, Buzz Aldrin on why Americans should set up shop on Mars even though his memories of the moon are still very vivid.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In the history of space travel, what happened nearly 44 years ago stands out. We're talking about Buzz Aldrin and his place in history, first a test pilot, then an astronaut. Well, he made it to the moon. Now he wants America to make it to Mars. Perhaps even colonize it.

Aldrin explains it all in his new book "Mission To Mars." We talked about why this goal is so important, especially now, but he also first talks about what the U.S. is missing by no longer having NASA-manned space travel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUZZ ALDRIN, FORMER ASTRONAUT: I think what we have been missing is some of the inspiration that has come out of humans being there and exploring new and different things instead of going up with the space shuttle, and at the space station and coming back again. We need to be doing exploring missions.

WHITFIELD: Do you worry that children now who are thinking about what to do with their lives, how they plan their lives, they can't necessarily look at NASA and can't necessarily look at manned missions for the inspiration that so many generations of the past were able to do? How do young people get inspired about science or even space exploration of the future in your view now?

ALDRIN: Well, if you remember other people do, after "Apollo" our science, technology, engineering, and math were up near the top worldwide. They're not that way anymore. So we have to renew our education systems and the way we do that is with inspirational missions.

WHITFIELD: Help me kind of recall, as you reflect, almost -- 44 years ago now, come July, what was that moment like for you when you set foot on the moon. Do you remember? Do you have any vivid memories of what you were feeling inside physically? What you were feeling, if there was any kind of recollection of the texture, what you were able to feel in your suit?

ALDRIN: Well, the most important moment was to land and to shut the engine off on the surface of the moon. Without being able to do that, we couldn't land again and again and again. And we couldn't open the hatch and go outside, so that was clearly the most important.

Now, when I got down to the bottom of the ladder, after a moment or two, I used the words "magnificent desolation" referring to the magnificence of the human species to go through all of the technical advances of transportation and here we are, walking on the moon that people have been gazing up to see for hundreds of years, thousands of years.

And we're so fortunate to be able to carry that out and fulfill a commitment by a president before another nation, the Soviet Union, could do that. We're at that desolate location where everything is gray. It's just lots and lots of dust covering old craters.

The horizon is very clear because there's no atmosphere to interfere with our vision, but you could see the horizon curving away against a very black sky. No stars were visible because the sun was so bright behind us. But I could look way up in the sky and see the blue dot, the blue planet where everyone else was living except three of us.

WHITFIELD: Was it squishy? I mean, I know you had this big boot on, but was there a way you could kind of feel texture or you know, get a sense as to what was below your boot?

ALDRIN: Well, the surface looked like talcum powder when you put your foot down and it formed such a perfect -- I've got a replica of that over here.

WHITFIELD: Neat.

ALDRIN: Of a boot print, and the picture I took of the moon. On the other side is the astronaut pin, of course. And on my tie, up here, is Mars and that's where we're hopefully headed to go.

WHITFIELD: All right.

ALDRIN: And now after overcoming depression and alcoholism, I now am planning the human missions for permanence on the planet Mars. What a fortunate life I have had unfold for me. I am just such a grateful person for the events that have come my way and my ability to take advantage of those.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Buzz Aldrin, what a pleasure to talk with you. Thank you so much for taking us around the world to the moon and beyond, and Mars, and the book is "Mission To Mars." Thank you so much and congratulations, a month and a half in advance of the 44th anniversary of your mission.

ALDRIN: Thank you so much. I'm looking forward to the 50th anniversary because that's when I hope we'll get a commitment to start permanence on Mars.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this July marks the 44th anniversary of Apollo 11.

All right, a jockey coming back from retirement to ride right into the Preakness stakes history.

And it pays off with an upset win in his words, it doesn't get any better than this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, HOST, CNN'S "THE NEXT LIST": This week on "THE NEXT LIST," the inventor of the next generation of Legos called "Little Bits."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Each little bit is a preassembled, pre- engineered electronic module that has one specific function.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One thing I notice is that the colors are very gender neutral. They're not all pink, not all blue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a hidden agenda that I really believe that we have to work harder to get girls interested in science and technology, but I don't believe in producing products for girls or for boys. I think that the intention here was little bits were not going to be designed for boys. That was a deliberate decision, and automatically, they became gender neutral.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm an engineer and the founder of "Little Bits."

GUPTA: Watch how she's revolutionizing how kids learn about technology, this Saturday, 2:30 Eastern, on the "NEXT LIST."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, in sports, no Triple Crown Winner this year. Oxbow acclaimed the second of the Triple Crown Races. Jockey Gary Stevens came out of seven years of retirement to ride himself to victory right there. Kentucky Derby winner Orb finished fourth.

David Beckham, one of the world's most famous athletes, wrapped up what is likely his last professional game. He's hanging up his cleats. His Paris teammates hoisted him on their shoulders and tossed him up in the air. More than 40,000 fans cheered when the game ended and tears started flowing. There he is with his boys. A fitting send off for one of the soccer game's truest legends.

All right, 2,000 miles in 27 days, a family hit the streets to honor their loved ones who have served and those lost at war. We'll show you the real meaning of Memorial Day. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Memorial Day isn't just about the start of summer. For many families across the country, it's a time to remember loved ones and pay tribute to our nation's fallen heroes. Members of one charitable organization called "Carry The Load" are doing just that. They're walking 2,000 miles this month to raise money for the families of those we have lost.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LT. CMDR. TRAVIS MANN, U.S. NAVY: The second year of the national relay, we start from West Point, New York City, and head down to Dallas, Texas, 2,000 miles. We do that in 27 days with a mission to get the word out about Memorial Day. We have about 348 legs, each one is about 5 miles.

BOB BAGOSY, PARTICIPANT: I'm here for my son. My son was Sergeant Thomas Robert Bagosy and he was United States Marine Corps.

KATIE BAGOSY, WIDOW: He was stationed at Camp Lejeune and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tom actually took his own life on Camp Lejeune, May 10, 2010. I think a lot of people think of Memorial Day as the start of summer, and we don't really remember what the actual meaning is. So I think that it's really great to get out there and show everybody and be like, look, there are people who are dying for your freedom so that you can celebrate and enjoy your summer, your barbecue.

BOB BAGOSY: We all belong to a club nobody wants to belong to. Nobody wants to lose anybody to become part of this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We kind of want memorial day to turn into memorial May. When you're seeing the families walk legs with us and watching their children and holding than hand on a five-mile leg and talking to them about their dad, that to me is tough, but in the same breath, it also lets me know that they're not forgotten.

KATIE BAGOSY: Tom was a very good man. He was great. He went to war and he went back again, and he knew what he was getting into.

BOB BAGOSY: He was a great Marine, he was a wonderful father, and a good husband to his wife, and I miss him. So this is my way of saying, Tom, I'm still here. He carried it in his boot when he died so it's close to my heart.

MANN: As our legs get tired and our feet are sore, that pales in comparison to what people have done overseas. How are you? Thanks for coming out. I'm Travis Mann.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you.

MANN: Thanks for coming out. Do you want to carry one of the flags?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I don't mind. MANN: There you go. When it gets heavy, just let me know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK.

TOMMY GALLARDA, TIGHT END, ATLANTA FALCONS: See some warm days, doing some long walks. It's across America that people have served. Not just from one specific part of the country. It's from all our cities, small towns, that have gone overseas or wherever they have been location at.

So I think it's all of America coming together. It's showing as they go through the communities, it doesn't matter which leg you're at, just that you can come out and show respect and really thank them for what they're doing. It doesn't matter where you're from. I think it's just something to show your respect with.

BOB BAGOSY: Carry this flag during this parade, I call it a parade, a small parade. But I just think that it's -- I don't know. It's just one of these things that I feel like I'm doing something for Tom.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And to learn more about the national relay or find out how you can participate, visit www.carrytheload.org.

All right, he got up close and personal with a bear, and it meant that all of us got to enjoy that same perspective. We're going to be talking to the mastermind behind planting a camera so you could see inside the mouth of a grizzly bear.

Plus, the "Star Trek" movie is a really big deal this weekend. We'll talk to the original Captain Kirk, but first, even after the tragedy at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, some U.S. retailers are still not pushing for aggressive worker safety. Christine Romans is naming names next on "YOUR MONEY."