Return to Transcripts main page
The Situation Room
Six Dead, Three Injured In University Shooting; Syria Promises Withdrawal From Besieged Cities; Clintons against Romney; New Twist in Trayvon Martin Case; Couric v. Palin; Mega Millions Winner
Aired April 02, 2012 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And you're in the SITUATION ROOM. Breaking news, six people reported dead in a California shooting.
Also, the Syrian regime pledging an immediate withdrawal of forces from the siege cities across the country. Is it just another empty promise or is it an end to the year-long slaughter finally in sight?
And former president, Bill Clinton, and his wife, the secretary of state Hillary Clinton, they're both piling on Mitt Romney saying the GOP presidential frontrunner is, quote, "out of touch and can't win the race."
And our search for the mystery woman now claiming to be one of three mega-million lottery winners. We're live at her hometown where some say the controversial story just is not adding up.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. You're in the SITUATION ROOM.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
BLITZER: Let's get to the breaking news right now. Six, yes, six people reported dead, three others injured after a mass shooting broke out at Oikos University. That's a religious college in Northern California. Police say a suspect is in custody.
Let's bring in a reporter Henry Lee of the "San Francisco Chronicle." He's joining us on the phone. Henry, what's the very latest information you're getting? You're on the scene?
HENRY LEE, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (via telephone): That's right. I'm at the scene where the police detained the suspect in this mass shooting, Wolf. I just talked to a witness who did see the suspect being detained and handcuffed outside of a Safeway store. It was (INAUDIBLE). He seems out of it. According to this witness said she thought that he was being arrested for shoplifting.
But we know that, unfortunately, a fare more sincere crime, at least, possibly as many six dead, many of those injured. A very terrible day here in the city of Oakland and also here in aftermath here in Alameda, California, not too far from the shooting scene.
BLITZER: You got any information about this alleged shooter, Henry?
LEE: Other than I know that he is a Korean-American in his 40s. They did have his name as a suspect very early on, Wolf, after the shooting, so they were looking for him. And I did hear that he did have many Korean-American men at gunpoint in and around the school. As you can imagine, this is a Korean religious school, so they did not know who the suspect was other than he was of larger build, possibly wearing khakis and a hat.
And the witness just told me she did see a guy wearing a hat (ph) as he came out of the Safeway store and was taken to the custody.
BLITZER: I've seen some suggestions he may have been a student there, had some connection to the university, what if anything, Henry, do you know about that?
LEE: The police have not told us what if any connection so far, Wolf. So, it remains to be seen if whether or not there is any definite connection at this time.
BLITZER: What about the car that the police have taken? This is the car belonging to this alleged suspect?
LEE: We do not know who owns this car. This is a bluish Honda Accord that was just towed away from the scene here outside the Safeway Store, but I have unconfirmed reports that the suspect may have arrived at the school in a different vehicle, possibly an SUV.
So, we don't know if somehow he had access to a second vehicle, if there was kind of an unauthorized user (ph) carjacking, if you will, but the Oakland police are here in the neighboring jurisdiction of Alameda taking witness statements and analyzing what happened over here.
BLITZER: Yes. And as of now, Henry, we just want to be precise. The working assumption is that one individual shooter involved, not part of some broader plot or anything along those lines, is that right?
LEE: That's correct. The police are telling us, so far, a single, lone gunman. No evidence of other people are involved. And the person they believe in responsible for this mass shooting is in custody.
BLITZER: Henry Lee reporting from us from "San Francisco Chronicle." Henry, we'll stay in touch with you. CNNs Paul Vercammen is also doing some independent reporting on what's going on. What else are you hearing, Paul?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, just to underscore this again, Oakland police are telling me that they say that six have been killed, nine total shot. These numbers are not necessarily final, both those numbers could rise. They also say that an unspecified firearm was used.
And as I told you before, they like to point out that this is of mixed commercial use. So, the university is interspersed with other businesses. They do not know if all of the victims were somehow connected with the college. So, that's what they're telling me right now, Wolf, that six people have been killed. The number could rise. Nine total shot in this incident. Back to you.
BLITZER: Paul, we'll stay in close touch with you as well. We're following the breaking news, horrible situation, six people reportedly killed in this shooting spree out the small university out in Oakland, California.
Let's move to other news, including what could potentially be, at least, some optimists are saying, a major milestone for the devastating Syrian crisis. The Syrian government is promising U.N. officials today it will begin pulling forces out of the population centers and complete the withdrawal by next week. But the pledge is being met with stiff skepticism here in the United States and elsewhere around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Let's be realistic. We are now speaking in my national capacity. We have seen over the course of the last many months promises made and promises broken. We have seen commitments to end the violence, followed by massive intensification of violence. So the United States, for one, would look at these commitments and say, yet again, but the proof is in the actions not in the words.
And past experience would lead us to be skeptical and to worry that over the next several days, they'd rather than a diminution of the violence, we might, yet again, see an escalation of the violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Ambassador Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to United Nations, all this as after this report the killings of another 65 people just today, and horrifying opposition reports of almost 80 bodies found tortured in a hospital refrigerator.
Let's discuss what's going on to the scholar, Professor Fouad Ajami is here in the SITUATION ROOM. Professor Ajami, thanks very much for coming in. You believe Kofi Annan has managed to convince Bashar al-Assad of Syria to pull out, to have a ceasefire, stop the killing?
FOUAD AJAMI, SENIOR FELLOW, HOOVER INSTITUTION: As sooner came out, because, in fact, I think as Ambassador Rice as well, you know, these are pledges made and pledges broken. There is no possibility that Bashar Assad will pull his troops after these major contested cities. For one obvious reason, he pulls his troops out, the entire population of these cities would rise in rebellion against them.
BLITZER: Why would even make, you know, a pledge to Kofi Annan, the former U.S. secretary general, the special envoy that's trying to ease this crisis? Why would he make a statement like that if he had no intention of living up to it? AJAMI: The image of Bashar -- the image of Bashar al-Assad and his wife, Asma, tells it all. These are very cynical people. They believe they could run out the clock. They believe in many ways they may have even won this fight. They believe they could draw the attention of the world away from this fight.
And they believe that if they could dig, if they hunker down, the world would leave them be, and they could prevail. I think this fight is a fight to the finish. There is no way that the Syrian people are going to put their -- somehow, another (INAUDIBLE) to the rebellion and believe that Bashar al-Assad means them well.
BLITZER: So, if the ceasefire does not hold, there's going to be mounting pressure, including on the U.S. to start providing weapons, arms to these rebels. So far, the U.S. has resisted. Others have resisted, although some in the Arab world are willing to provide weapons to these rebels.
What's your sense? The argument is made by U.S. officials. They don't know who these rebels are, so why should the U.S. start arming them?
AJAMI: Right. This is the great question. Who are these guys? We know who these guys are. We have their names. We have their ranks. These are ordinary Syrian people, officers, civilians who have recent rebellion against this spot (ph), and affect is a sad comment on American diplomacy that we keep calling into questions that want to see this and the credentials of the Syrian rebellion.
And you just lead, just awhile ago, you spoke about secretary of state Hillary Clinton questioning whether Mitt Romney could win or lose. That is not the task of a secretary of state. She should be paying attention to the rebellion in Syria. And we have to accept that we have -- the United States has, in many ways, been the force that has been holding back arming the civilian defectors.
BLITZER: Yes. She was -- in fairness to the secretary of state, she was asked about Mitt Romney's statements that Russia is now the geopolitical major foe of the United States. She answered that without getting (ph) to politics.
Her husband, the former president, was certainly open to talking about politics much more. So, we're going to have much more on this part of the story later. You want to make another point?
AJAMI: Yes, because, in fact, the secretary of state has made some remarkable statements, and these statements were not against Bashar. I mean, she has made them, but she's made remarkable statements against the Syrian opposition.
BLITZER: Saying what?
AJAMI: She has called into question whether Damascus and rebellion -- Damascus and Aleppo have risen in rebellion. She's kept saying, we don't know these people. She even made a mockery out of the situation whereby (INAUDIBLE) put out a tape in support of the civilian rebellion, and then she said, do we really want to be on the side of Ayman Zawihiri (ph)?
She knows -- she knows this irrelevant. She knows that we have to arm, at some point, we are going to probably arm the Syrian rebellion. Better do it sooner than later.
BLITZER: What is your take on what's happening in Egypt right now where the Muslim brotherhood is now saying they will, in fact, have a candidate that runs for the presidential election in May?
AJAMI: A stunning development, Wolf, because in many ways, this was the last cookie on the plate. And the Muslim brotherhood said we're not going to eat this cookie. We'll leave it to the seculars. All of a sudden, they change their mind, and they say we're going to run a candidate for the presidency.
One of the reasons, maybe the principle reasons for doing so is that the Muslim brotherhood does not believe that the seculars, say, Mohammad Moradi or Ahmed Mousa (ph) will win. And that another Islamist will win. So, they feel that they're own (ph) Islamist because they want to make sure that --
BLITZER: Will the military accept the outcome of that election?
AJAMI: Well, I mean, obviously, you know, we are talking about the Muslim brotherhood, the military, and in the end, this very, very weak secular movement. And I think it's a bargain between the military and the Muslim brotherhood.
BLITZER: So, all your great hopes a year ago, what was happening in Tahrir Square in Cairo, have they been bashed?
AJAMI: No, I remain -- I'm all in. I remain convince that the side of rebellion (ph) is an oval (ph) undertaking, but I think what we are seeing in Egypt is the fact that the secular movement in Egypt, the liberals in Egypt, the people you and I would know, the people you and I would call on in Cairo are weaker than we suspected.
BLITZER: Fouad Ajami, thanks very much.
AJAMI: Thank you.
BLITZER: Always good to hear what you have to say on this.
Sarah Palin goes on morning television to battle Katie Couric, and the jabs are already beginning. Stand by.
And a mystery woman claims to be one of the mega millions lottery winners, but is she really? Ahead, we're going live to the store where that winning ticket was bought.
And luxury suits, private parties, 75,000 for a team building exercise, and you paid for it all. We have the incredible story of an $800,000 conference that's forcing one government agency chief to step down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Hey, Jack. Jack Cafferty is here with the "Cafferty File."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The fate of Obamacare now in the hands of the Supreme Court, of course, we knew that. Although, nobody knows for sure what decision is going to go down. Last week's oral arguments did not seem promising for the Obama administration. Experts, some of them anyway, think that the individual mandate, maybe even the whole law, is in jeopardy.
Supporters tell "Politico," if the law goes down, there could be significant ripple effects. They say other federal laws could be on the firing line, things like environmental laws, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, as well as federal regulation of the labor market and laws preventing employment discrimination.
Opponents of Obamacare saying liberals are just using the sky as falling scare tactics. Plus, they suggest if the Supreme Court upholds the individual mandate, that lead the future mandates, like requirements to buy health food or join in gym. The Supreme Court decisions expected in June, whichever way the court rules, there will no doubt be a political lightning rod effect for both parties since it will come just a few months before the presidential election.
Meanwhile, as Americans wait for the decision to court to decide healthcare, healthcare costs keep going up and up. It's estimated the cost to cover the typical family of four under an employer plan will top $20,000 this year. That's up seven percent from last year. It will be the fifth year in a row that healthcare rose either seven or eight percent.
And even though employers pick up a lot of that cost, you can bet they pass it (ph) long to us in other forms.
Anyway, the question is this, if Obamacare falls, what's next? Go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile and post a comment on my blog or go to our post on the SITUATION ROOM's" Facebook page. I don't know if anybody has any idea what's next.
BLITZER: Yes. They may have to start from scratch to deal with this once again after the next election.
CAFFERTY: Oh, no.
BLITZER: If the whole thing --
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: But the mandates are the heart of it, because that pays, forcing healthy young people to buy insurance pays for helping all sorts of others who don't necessarily --
CAFFERTY: Without the mandate, the law is meaningless.
BLITZER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: So, we'll see what happens.
BLITZER: See if that 5-4, 6-3 decision happens in June.
CAFFERTY: Six-three is a lot different from 5-4.
BLITZER: I know.
CAFFERTY: Politically speaking.
BLITZER: Very different.
CAFFERTY: Right?
BLITZER: Thank you.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
BLITZER: This just coming in to CNN right now, the head of a major government agency is resigning amid reports of excessive spending. Let's go to our White House correspondent, Brianna Keilar. She's got some details. What's going on here, Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're talking about a woman named Martha Johnson (ph). She's the head of the General Services Administration. Many people may never have heard of it, but it's basically the landlord for the federal government overseeing all of the thousands of federal buildings own across the country, and this happened, the resignation coming amid reports of a very questionable conference.
This was a conference that was held outside of Las Vegas, attended by about 300 people. And if you can believe this, GSA employees conducted ahead of the conference, two scouting trips, five offsite planning meetings as well as a dry run. This is all according to a report just released by the independent inspector general for the GSA. And those planning cost alone, cost $136,000 add that to cost of the conference about $686,000, for a total of $822,000.
And it's not just the overall price tag here that's so eye- popping. It's also what this money was spent on. $75,000 to hire a company to do team building exercises, including a bicycle construction exercise, $6,000 spent on commemorative coins, more than $6,000 on canteen (ph), key chains, and T-shirts, basically swag, Wolf.
And the White House, obviously, knew this report was coming out. A senior administration official giving up a statement from the White House chief of staff, Jack Lew, saying that the president was informed about this before he went to Korea.
So, here, about a week ago, it seems, and that he was outraged by this, all of this culminating in the resignation of the head of the GSA, and also, we know that two other top officials with the GSA have been fired, Wolf.
BLITZER: And all of this money, nearly a million dollars, that's U.S. taxpayer money that was thrown away, at least a lot of it, in this kind of excessive spending?
KEILAR: That's right. And, this is also something that certainly the president and the White House have had to come out with a very strong reaction to, because this was one of the priorities of President Obama.
In fact, it was some time ago that one of the things -- we actually wrote a story about it on CNN was that they were trying to eliminate costs at a number of government agencies and that even included, what we typically call swag, the freebies that might have, the emblem of the agency on it.
And as you can see, certainly in this case, this did not tack with what President Obama and the White House said they were trying to do.
BLITZER: Yes. I'm sure that this is one example of many that probably goes on all the time. And I'm sure that they're going to be taking a closer look at all of this waste, because a lot of it is waste. No doubt about that. All right. Thanks very much, Brianna, for that report.
Last time we saw this JetBlue pilot, he was in a wheelchair after having a midair meltdown. Now, he's up and he's walking. He's being punished for his erratic behavior.
And she's famous for using the term "lame stream media," but now, is Sarah Palin part of the "lame stream media?" Stand by. You're in the SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Lisa Sylvester is monitoring some of the other top stories in the SITUATION ROOM right now, including an update on that JetBlue pilot who had a mid flight meltdown. Lisa, what's going on?
SYLVESTER: Well, Wolf, Clayton Osbon seen here for the first time since the incident will be held in a Texas jail until a bond hearing on Thursday. He's charged with interfering with a flight crew after his erratic behavior got him locked out of the cockpit. He then had to be subdued for screaming and banging on the door. OSbon has been in custody at a hospital for six days.
And tardy students in Crosby, Texas, probably all have the same excuse this morning. That is because 58 of the district's 70 school buses had their tires flattened overnight, leaving 2,500 students scrambling to find a ride to school. Authorities are looking at surveillance video to find the culprit. Buses were expected to be working in time to bring students home.
And what do David Beckham, Jay Leno and Mary J. Blige all have in common? If you guess the Burger King, you're right. The fast food chain will feature all three celebrities and more in a new ad campaign. They're also adding new menu items like salad and smoothies, changing employee uniforms, and introducing digital menu boards behind the front counters. Burger King says it's all in response to consumer demands. Wendy's recently overtook Burger King as the second most popular fast food chain behind McDonald's. So, change is coming for Burger King.
BLITZER: Yes. Change is good. Change is always good. I'm sure they're going to keep all their old stuff, but they're just going to bring in some new stuff, too, a little bit healthier, which is good as well.
SYLVESTER: The smoothies, the salads. Exactly, Wolf.
BLITZER: Stuff you like a lot. Thank you, Lisa.
Secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, takes an unusual dip a little bit into political waters. Just ahead, you're going to want to hear what the secretary of state is saying about Republican presidential frontrunner, Mitt Romney. She's suggesting he may be, quote, "out of touch."
And swirling questions abut one of the winning mega millions lottery tickets. Does it really belong to just one person or to a whole lot more or to none of them?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The republican presidential frontrunner, Mitt Romney, is getting hit hard from the left by not just one, but two Clintons at the same time. The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, typically doesn't wade into political waters but made an exception when our own foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty, asked her about a controversial comment Romney made right here in SITUATION ROOM, calling Russia, and I'm quoting Romney now, "our number one geopolitical foe."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think it's somewhat dated to be looking backwards instead of being realistic about where we agree, where we don't agree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Her husband, the former president, Bill Clinton, insists Romney could be in serious trouble suggesting to ABC News this race is very different from his own successful run back in 1992.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mine was just one long character attack. But we never had to change what we were saying from the primary to the general.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to let this guy do it.
BILL CLINTON: The problem that Governor Romney has is that his character attacked was you don't really know what he believes. He did this, he says that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: When asked about a potential White House run for Hillary Clinton in 2016, a doting Bill Clinton simply said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
B. CLINTON: Well I miss her. We have fun together. She wants to come home and decompress and relax and I believe that she's being absolutely honest with you when she says she doesn't think she'll go back into politics. But if she comes home and we do this foundation stuff for the rest of our lives, I'll be happy. If she changes her mind and decides to run, I'll be happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: He's going to be happy either way. Let's talk about this, Bill Clinton's swap at Mitt Romney. Joining us our chief political analyst Gloria Borger, very different tones to a certain degree, he's much more political than Hillary Clinton is, but they're both going after Mitt Romney. I guess they both think he's the presumptive Republican nominee.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure and it's very powerful first of all coming from Hillary Clinton, who's probably one of the most popular women in this country, certainly one of the most respected women around the world. And she just responded to a question about Mitt Romney and Russia, foreign policy and that's her job as secretary of state. But she is of course political and Bill Clinton makes a very good point which is that Mitt Romney's character flaw, if you will, is the question of what's at his core, what does he really believe in? And Bill Clinton makes the point you know his character flaw was about something else, which of course he didn't talk about.
BLITZER: Yes, because you know Bill Clinton successfully in '92 defeated an incumbent president, sitting president, George H.W. Bush. And Romney's trying to do the same thing right now. What Clinton was saying you know he probably doesn't have the wherewithal? I did he says, but Romney doesn't.
BORGER: Well the interesting thing about Bill Clinton if you recall is that he was a southern moderate governor who decided he wanted to take the Democratic Party in a different direction. With Mitt Romney, you see someone who seems to be following the lead of where the Republican Party is heading. He had been a more moderate Republican governor in the state of Massachusetts, now the Republican Party has become much more conservative. So you can make the case that instead of leading the party in a certain direction, he's actually trying to figure out where it's going and following it.
BLITZER: What's interesting about Hillary Clinton, she seems to suggest that after she gives up her job as secretary of state, she's finished with politics. No more politics, but you just heard her husband leave that door pretty wide open if that's what she wants to do.
BORGER: Have you ever heard of transference, Wolf, where maybe Bill Clinton would like another shot at being president.
BORGER: I'm sure he would.
BLITZER: I'm sure he would. I believe Hillary Clinton. I think she's exhausted. I think it's a job that takes so much time and travel and energy if you do it the right way. And most people would agree she is doing it the right way. And that she does want to take time to reflect. Of course you can't predict what's going to happen in 2016. If she were to decide that she were interested in the nomination in 2016, I think you would have to say she would be an automatic front-runner, although I guess Joe Biden might be in that race too, so you'd have --
BLITZER: Yes, Andrew Cuomo --
BORGER: -- two very -- and then you would have --
BLITZER: Martin O'Malley (ph), there are a whole bunch of Democrats out there --
BORGER: Well and then you'd have a real generational issue in the Democratic Party as you have in the Republican Party right now.
BLITZER: She'll be what, 68 or 69 years old in four years --
BORGER: Right.
BLITZER: Still a relatively young woman, she could take a month off, relax a little bit and then go back into politics.
BORGER: Take a month off, sure.
BLITZER: Not so bad. Thanks very much Gloria.
BORGER: Sure.
BLITZER: The short list for the vice presidential slot on the Republican ticket just got a little shorter. The South Carolina governor, Nikki Haley (ph) emphatically saying she would not accept the position if offered, adding that she had made a promise to her state and she intends to keep it. Our chief political correspondent Candy Crowley takes a closer look at some of the other names being floated out right now as possible GOP VPs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mitt Romney thinks of Wisconsin-Maryland-D.C. sweep Tuesday night will send him sailing to the nomination. Still he won't own it yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A VP? I was thinking about you, but no I haven't. I'm not presumptuous enough --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
ROMNEY: I'm not the nominee yet.
CROWLEY: Romney may be reticent, but in the rest of political world it is never too early to rush the season with a quick crowd of veep stakes. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (ph), a popular media savvy guy from the south which has not been fertile territory for Mitt Romney, but a McDonnell (ph) sign Virginia law requiring women to undergo an ultrasound procedure before an abortion may not do much to close that giant Republican gender gap. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, if Mitt Romney has an authenticity deficit Christie oozes it. Republicans love his in your faceness, but part of the authentic Christie is a temper.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Your rear end is going to get thrown in jail, idiot.
CROWLEY: Christie also may have a geographical problem. An all northeast ticket might be a hard sale west of the Mississippi. Cue (ph) Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, the brainy budget star of the House, downside Ryan is the Republican face of Medicare reform, not a huge plus in an election year.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: I'm focused on doing my job, so it's just not my forte to get into that kind of speculation.
CROWLEY: Offering a change up in geography and resume, Senator Rob Portman, of Ohio, a seasoned though not scintillating Washington veteran of Congress and the Bush administration and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal who could offer a southern assist. Sometimes mentioned dark horses, New Mexico's Susana Martinez (ph), female, Hispanic and the governor of a swing state. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (ph), debits (ph), both are relatively untested and unknown on the national scene. Always mentioned, Marco Rubio, he's a Tea Party favorite, the rising star senator from the swing state of Florida and a Cuban American, which could help an inroad to the politically pivotal Hispanic community. He is young and green and won't play the veep stakes.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: My answer hasn't changed.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Still under no circumstances?
RUBIO: Yes, I'm not going to be the vice president.
CROWLEY: They almost always say things like that.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I have one requisite question --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Vice president?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, I promise, no. CROWLEY: Until they say yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I take this obligation freely.
CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That's why this is a great country, you can always change your minds. It's a free country I must say that. Just ahead, what experts are now saying about screams heard on that Trayvon Martin 911-call.
Plus Sarah Palin sticks -- Sarah Palin versus Katie Couric, the jabs are flying. We'll have the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A new twist in the case of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, an audio expert now says there's quote "a huge chance it's not George Zimmerman screaming on that 911-call", but a closer look at the police station video does seem to show that Zimmerman was in fact injured -- CNN's David Mattingly reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, I just heard a shot right behind my house.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even to the untrained ear, it's clear the Sanford 911-recordings capture the last sounds of Trayvon Martin's life. You can hear in the background a cry for help.
DISPATCHER: So you think he's yelling help?
CALLER: Yes.
DISPATCHER: All right, what is your --
MATTINGLY: But whose voice is it? The answer could make or break George Zimmerman's claim of self-defense. Zimmerman told police he was yelling for help.
EDWARD JOHN PRIMEAU, AUDIO ENGINEER AND FORENSICS EXPERT: There's a huge chance that this is not Zimmerman's voice, as a matter of fact after 28 years of doing this, I would put my reputation on the line and say this is not George Zimmerman screaming.
MATTINGLY: Two audio experts using specialized software for "The Orlando Sentinel" analyzed the 911-tapes. They examined Zimmerman's voice here calling 911.
ZIMMERMAN: This guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something.
MATTINGLY: And they compared it to the yells for help you can hear later in the background.
DISPATCHER: And is it a male or a female?
CALLER: It sounds like a male.
DISPATCHER: And you don't know why?
CALLER: I don't know why. I think they're yelling help, but I don't know.
CALLER: Send someone quick please, God.
TOM OWEN, VIDEO/AUDIO EXPERT: He identified himself on the 911- call, so we know who that is, and then we have the voice of the person who is screaming, and we consider that the unknown because we really don't know who that is at this point.
MATTINGLY: And they don't know if evidence like this will ever be heard by a jury if Zimmerman ever goes to trial. He has not been charged with any crime and is not in custody. Michael LaFay is a Florida defense attorney and former prosecutor. He says first a judge has to be convinced the audio tests should be evidence and there's no guarantee.
MICHAEL LAFAY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: All courts have a job, a gate keeping function, and that is to keep junk science out of the courtroom. That's part of what every judge and every court has to do.
MATTINGLY: There is also new scrutiny now on the police video surveillance of George Zimmerman taken soon after his fight with Trayvon Martin. In its original form, you can't see any injuries to Zimmerman's head. But look what happens after the video is enhanced by a CNN editor. Boosting definition in contrast, there now appears to be some kind of mark on the back of Zimmerman's head. But the poor quality of the original video still makes it impossible to see clearly if this mark is an injury.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: And back to the analysis of those 911-tapes for now, Wolf, we're waiting to hear from the representatives of Trayvon Martin's family if they will provide an audio reporting of Trayvon's voice for a similar comparison -- Wolf.
BLITZER: David Mattingly with the latest on this story that has captivated so many of us. Thank you, David.
Race also, by the way, is at the forefront of an emotional firestorm in America. "AC 360" is teaming up this week with a renowned child psychologist to see what factors contribute to kids' opinions on race. "Kids on Race, The Hidden Picture", CNN will air it all this week on "AC 360," beginning tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN. First it was got you and now it's game on. Sarah Palin and Katie Couric are going head to head once again. What's on the line this time? And she says she won the lottery, but hasn't shown her ticket. CNN goes to Baltimore to talk to the winner who is raising a whole lot of questions. Our Brian Todd is on the scene.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: It's Palin versus Couric, round two. Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin famously accused Katie Couric of asking got you questions in the series of 2008 interviews. Now they're in a battle for network ratings and Sarah Palin has two words for Katie Couric, game on. CNN's Dana Bash is following this story for us, lots of interest Dana. What's going on here?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well you mentioned ratings, network morning shows are known for their epic ratings battles, their ruthless tactics to nab the big get (ph), but it's usually about the guest. Tomorrow morning it will be hardball all about the host.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA" CO-HOST: We're glad to have Katie Couric (INAUDIBLE), how does it feel?
KATIE COURIC, GUEST "GOOD MORNING AMERICA" CO-HOST: I'm happy to be here, George. Thank you for inviting me first of all. But it's a little strange, truth be told --
BASH (voice-over): Truth be told it was a little strange for us viewers too.
COURIC: You know me. It's hard to keep surprises.
BASH: For 15 years, Katie Couric was the "Today" show. Her popularity there led the program to number one where it has remained for a decade and a half.
COURIC: Good Morning America.
BASH: Now "Good Morning America" is nipping at its heels, so over at NBC one upsmanship (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a special --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've moved on --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- guest host for tomorrow morning on "Today", former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin --
BASH: You bet you. Palin will go head to head with Couric who conducted this infamous 2008 CBS interview when Palin was running for vice president.
COURIC: I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have read most of them --
COURIC: Which ones specifically? I'm curious --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of them.
BASH: Palin called into NBC on her way to New York City and Matt Lauer went there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing to prepare? Are you reading some newspapers?
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it begins.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can still turn that plane around, Governor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Great, OK, that's a fine how do you do. That's a great start. Here we go.
BASH: Before politics, Palin was a local sportscaster in Alaska.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to show you highlights, plus tell you all about that next, stay right there.
BASH: But that was long ago. And by inviting Palin the politician to host the 8:00 a.m. hour of what is supposed to be a morning news program, NBC is treading on dangerous ground. Not only has she made a career out of slamming the main stream media --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't get sucked into the lame stream media's lies.
BASH: She is also playing into a dynamic she says she detests, what some see as sexism in media and politics, the "New York Daily News" dubbed it a cat fight. And she is reminding people of what appeared to be uninformed answers to Couric's basic questions, mocked to big ratings on "Saturday Night Live."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But again, and not to belabor the point, one specific thing.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Katie, I would like to use one of my lifelines.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am not your puppet.
BASH: Still, several GOP strategists tell us Palin could use some reputation rehab thanks to HBO's "Game Change". JULIANNE MOORE, ACTRESS: You have ruined my reputation. I am ruined in Alaska.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: But even GOP sources who are no fans of Palin tell me they are surprised and frankly impressed that she could have a laugh this morning with Matt Lauer about what newspapers do you read question. Still, Wolf, others warn she is putting a lot on the line with this. A ratings war with Katie Couric and a high profile forum she is not used to where in the words of one GOP strategist I talked to, she can easily flub -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Since she's not going to be a guest on the "Today Show", she is going to be a co-host according to "NBC News", she is going to co-host, I assume that NBC is paying her a lot of money to do this. Do we have any idea how much NBC is paying Sarah Palin to be a co-host with -- on the "Today Show"?
BASH: It's a great question, in fact I have calls and e-mails into NBC as well as Sarah Palin's folks and I have not heard back. That was one of the questions I wanted to ask. So hopefully, Wolf, we will get those answers and I'll get back to you as soon as we do.
BLITZER: Thanks very much. We'll see what happens tomorrow, Dana on top of this story. Jack you love this story, don't you.
CAFFERTY: It's one more unanswered question, right? If Obamacare falls, what is next? By the way, Couric will win the ratings war. Ralph in Orange Park Florida writes "if Obamacare falls the Republicans in Congress will propose nothing to replace it because they have no constituency among those too poor to pay for health care. When or if the Democrats regain the majority in both houses of Congress they can try again only make it simpler this time."
L. writes "the court may declare mandatory enrollment unconstitutional, but Congress has an obligation to then spend every minute reworking this bill to help all Americans get coverage. An unhealthy citizenship doesn't make for a strong nation and the more we allow insurance companies to raise rates, well it will only get worse."
Tina in Wisconsin writes "we'll have killed what should have been bipartisan middle ground. The mandate in question was a Republican ideal for 15 years until a Democrat agreed. Our health care has become nothing more than another piece of political gaming."
Martha in Pennsylvania "we can only hope that there will be a common sense approach to providing health care for all Americans such as the systems adopted in other developed countries, otherwise, the only people with access to medical care will be those who either qualify for Medicaid or have lots and lots of money."
And Mack in Michigan writes "I guess we'll have to learn to live with what ails us or if we get really bad sick, get a gun, shoot some holes in the ceiling of the nearest 7-11 and wait to be arrested. The government still provides health care for convicted felons, hard working people who have been fortunate enough to reach middle age, not so much." If you want to read more about this, go to the blog, CNN.com/CaffertyFile or through our post on THE SITUATION ROOM's Facebook page -- sir.
BLITZER: Good stuff, Jack. Thank you.
All right, we've got new information about that deadly shooting incident out at a small university in Oakland, California. Authorities are now telling CNN confirming that seven, seven people are dead in the wake of that shooting at Oikois (ph) University. It is a small religious college out in California not far from Oakland. Seven confirmed dead now in this story we're watching it for you. The suspect is believed to be in custody by local authorities.
A mystery woman claims to be one of the mega millions lottery winners, but is she really? Ahead we're going live to the store where that winning ticket was bought.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We all know three winning tickets were purchased for Friday's record setting Mega Millions jackpot. Unfortunately my ticket was not one of them, but there was a winning ticket sold in Baltimore, Maryland. The question is where is the winner? CNN's Brian Todd is at the location where the winning ticket was purchased. What are you learning because there are some strange developments unfolding right now, Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Like there often are in these lottery winnings. Wolf, we do know what you just said that the winning ticket for the Maryland part of this lottery looking a lot like this was bought here at the 7-Eleven. We know this 7-Eleven is going to get a $100,000 cut but the winnings, but the actual name of the winner has not been confirmed yet by state officials and whether there is one winner or several may be in some dispute.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): It is out there, the tiny ticket stub everyone is looking for. We have been on the hunt in Maryland for the Mega Millions winner who will snag more than $100 million after taxes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But nobody has come through the doors yet.
TODD: Could it be this woman? Merlandy Wilson (ph) told the "New York Post" she is the Maryland winner. We learned she also told people at a deli across the street from her house, but co-workers at the McDonald's where Wilson works told "The Post" she was among a group of them who went in on the tickets together. Wilson says the ticket she bought was separate from that.
(on camera): A key piece of evidence in solving this mystery is going to be found right at this spot at the Baltimore 7-Eleven where the winning Mega Millions ticket was sold right from this machine. Here is what they're going to be looking for. Each Mega Millions ticket has a date and time stamp on it. They will match it up according to lottery officials with surveillance video hopefully that they got of this purchase taken on these two cameras here. You can see some of the return video over there. Lottery officials tell us they do take surveillance of these purchases, hopefully they're going to match this up with the winning ticket and verify everything.
(voice-over): I asked lottery spokeswoman Carole Everett about the dispute.
(on camera): What do you make of her claim at this point?
CAROLE EVERETT, MARYLAND LOTTERY: There is nothing to make of it. Again, it doesn't sound like a typical jackpot winner to us. I don't put much stock in that story.
TODD: Why not? Why doesn't this sound right?
EVERETT: She claims she won. She can't produce the ticket. We really don't even spend that much time on it other than to field questions from the media. In our opinion until they walk in that door, hold that ticket, produce valid identification and our security people can process and validate it, it doesn't matter.
TODD (voice-over): Co-workers did tell "The Post" Wilson later couldn't find her ticket. We looked all over Baltimore for Merlandy Wilson (ph), at her home --
(KNOCKING)
TODD: -- on her street, where neighbors say she took off.
(on camera): She is a good neighbor?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, she is a good neighbor. She is an honest person.
TODD (voice-over): And at that McDonald's, no one would talk to us on camera. The owner e-mailed us saying nothing has been confirmed about anyone there being involved. We asked Mark Schamel, a gaming attorney, how to avoid these disputes.
MARK SCHAMEL, GAMING & WHITE COLLAR CRIME ATTORNEY: Idea to avoid it would be bring the tickets back, put them some place where the entire group has oversight of them, and the person is free to do whatever they want on their own behalf.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Lottery officials also tell us that people going in on these things as a group should get it all in writing, have one document with the names of everyone who is going in on the tickets, have it in explicit language that they're all going in on it together and they're going to share the winnings, just have that in writing so that there is no dispute after these drawings -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian, is there any indication that any of these McDonald's employees got any of this in writing?
TODD: We don't really know that yet. A McDonald's representative just told us they don't know if any of them got it in writing. According to the "New York Post" there were two batches of tickets bought and the first batch they had it all in a safe there. Second batch they asked her to go buy these tickets on her way home and apparently she did and then took them home and that's where the dispute is. She says she bought those tickets personally on her own behalf, so that's where the dispute lies -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian Todd, go have a Slurpee (ph) before you head back to Washington from Baltimore. Thanks very much for joining us. Brian Todd on the scene as he always is.
That's it for me. Thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitz in THE SITUATION ROOM. The news continues next on CNN.
