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CNN Saturday Morning News

U.S. Soldier Accused of Killing Spree in Afghanistan Brought to America; Violence Continues in Syria; Teen Killed by Neighborhood Watch; Pundits Assess GOP Presidential Race; President Obama Holds Hollywood Fundraiser; Movie Critic Discusses "Hunger Games"; CNN Hero Helps Children in Nepal.

Aired March 17, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, welcome to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Randi Kaye. It's 10:00 a.m. in the east, 7:00 a.m. in the west, and 9:00 a.m. at Fort Leavenworth at Kansas, where we have learned the alleged Afghanistan shooter has arrived. We also have stunning new details about his identity, his past, and what his friends and neighbors are saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was super fun to hang around with, kind of the life of the party kind of guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And later in the hour, we'll talk to General "Spider" Marks about why he thinks Obama's fate hangs in Afghan President Karzai's hands.

Plus, what is Hollywood hunk George Clooney doing in hand cuffs? Hello. We'll tell you.

This morning a soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in a house-to-house rampage is back in the U.S. A plane carrying Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales arrived last night in Kansas. He's now being held in a private prison cell at Fort Leavenworth. Neighbors say the man accused of Sunday's heinous attack in Afghanistan is much different from the decorated combat veteran they know.

The shooting rampage has sparked massive anger in Afghanistan. Hundreds of protesters marching in the Afghan city of Jalalabad this morning, demanding that Bales be put on trial according to Islamic law. They chanted "Death to America." CNN's Sara Sidner has been following this story since it broke last Sunday. She's live in Kabul, Afghanistan, for us. Sara, is it likely that bales will be returned to Afghanistan?

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not likely at all, because there is an agreement in place between the United States and Afghanistan that's long standing on how anyone accused in the military, what the process is for that person, and normally they would go through a military tribunal. We heard from his attorney, Staff Sergeant Bales' attorney, saying there's not a chance that he's going to be brought back here and tried here.

And you're hearing chant there in Jalalabad, saying "Death to America," but also asking for him to be tried using Islamic law as opposed to the law of a foreign land. That is also not going to happen. They will use the law under which the agreement exists. We should also talk about the protests. This is the second time we've seen protests in Jalalabad. They closed down one of the main roads, and now we're seeing another protest break out there again. But we're not seeing protests all around the country. They're very isolated. This is only the third protest since this happened on Sunday. It's almost been a week now. Very different from what we saw when U.S. troops were accused of burning Korans that they said they did mistakenly, and then we saw massive protests were 40 people were killed. So a very different scenario. Still, though, people are quite angry about what transpired of Sunday. Randi?

KAYE: What about Hamid Karzai? What are his plans today? Is he trying to calm people there? Is he in touch with the villagers where this happened?

SIDNER: Yes, he's in touch with the villagers. He brought them in, the village elders and some of the family members of the victims who were killed on Sunday to let them tell him exactly what they saw, their feelings, what they want to see happen. They're basically asking for justice to be done. They say they don't want any compensation from the U.S. or the Afghan government. But we do know that the Afghan government has helped with some things such as paying for funerals and the like.

We also know that the president is very frustrated with what's happened here in recent months and has said so, saying that the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan is at the end of its rope.

And so a lot of frustration coming from him and obviously in front of this group of people who have just been through such a traumatic time. There is a lot of anger on his part about how things have unfolded here when it comes to the investigation of this soldier, because Afghan investigators did not get a chance to speak to the soldier before he was sent back to America. Randi?

KAYE: And in light of what's happened there, they've been saying there that if they catch any American soldier, they will behead him. There's a lot of threats of violence there. What is the mood among the troops there in Afghanistan?

SIDNER: I think any time something like this happens, people worry. It reflects back on them. Although time and again, the U.S. and international security assistants, officials have said this is not representative of our armed forces that are here. These are isolated incidents. But still, think, there's always worry, especially when you hear the Taliban saying we're going to behead any soldier, any American troop that is on the ground in our country if we catch them. So as you might imagine, there's heightened security at some of the bases here.

KAYE: Sara Sidner in Kabul for us. Sara, thank you very much.

So what is the public reaction to the Afghan shooting incident and how does it impact on U.S. troop withdrawal? Join me at 10:00 a.m. eastern. We'll talk with General "Spider" Marks about a new poll and whether the attack is a setback for troop pullout strategy.

Now to Syria where there is little sign that the violence that has rocked the country is easing. Two huge explosions killed at least 27 people in the capital of Damascus today, nearly 100 people suffered injuries. The Syrian government is blaming terrorists. At least 10 people also died in other parts of Syria.

Former Nazi death camp guard and retired Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk has died in German. Demjanjuk was found guilty last year of being an accessory to nearly 28,000 deaths during World War II. He denied those charges and was appealing a five-year prison sentence. Demjanjuk was 91.

The director of the "Kony 2012" film that went viral is now in the hospital. Witnesses spotted Jason Russell, seen here on the right, in an interview just days ago wearing the red T-shirt. They saw him running through the streets of San Diego on Thursday wearing only his underwear. His film about a notorious Ugandan warlord has received 80 million views on YouTube. Colleagues say Russell is suffering from exhaustion and dehydration brought on by the stress of the past few weeks.

If you drive a Honda Civic hybrid you may have some money coming your way. A San Diego judge approved a settlement yesterday between the automaker and drivers who say their cars didn't get the promised gas mileage. The settlement will pay up to $200 to nearly a quarter million owners. They'll also receive rebates toward another Honda purchase.

About to head out for your St. Paddy day's celebration? You may want to stick around a little longer because Reynolds is back with a weather update. What are people going to find out there today?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Out west, there's going to be mainly some rain in parts of California, especially the interior valleys, the San Joaquin Valley. You'll also have snow across the southern and central Rockies that could last on and off throughout the afternoon. But in parts of the Midwest, especially the mid-Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley, we might be dealing with severe weather late in the day. We'll talk more about that coming up in just a few moments.

KAYE: OK, Reynolds. Thank you. Just ahead, General "Spider" Marks is in our Washington bureau. He's ready to talk about the Afghan shooting rampage and the U.S. troop pullout strategy and who he thinks really is in charge of the war. You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING where news doesn't take the weekend off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A revealing look this morning into the EF-4 tornado that wiped out entire communities in Indiana. Surveillance cameras inside Henryville high school rolling on March 2nd as the tornado headed straight for the school. Students were already on their school buses while all this was happening. But just minutes after the teachers got the students back inside the school, this hit. Incredible video there, about 80 staff school teachers and students were inside the school. Nobody was injured. Isn't that incredible, Reynolds? You look at that video and it's hard to believe no one was hurt.

WOLF: It is unreal. The damage boggles the imagination.

KAYE: The power of it.

WOLF: The biggest danger that you have when you have storms like this is not really the wind but rather the stuff that gets picked up by the wind. A small coin, a penny, and can be picked up and with winds that can top 300 miles an hour, it can become a deadly projectile, almost like a bullet. That's the reason why during tornadoes the safest place to be is underground if possible.

(WEATHER BREAK)

KAYE: Now to the main bar story, the attack in Afghanistan and an American soldier leaving his outpost and killing 16 men, women, and children. The U.S. Army has identified the suspect as Staff Sergeant Robert Bales. Last hour we spoke to former Jag attorney Greg Rinckey about military justice. Now we drill down on public reaction to that incident and the plan to withdraw the troops from that country.

Here are the results from a poll done just this week. Take a look. In a survey of more than a thousand people, a U.S. Gallup poll shows 50 percent of Americans think the United States should speed up the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Apparently one in three changed to that opinion because of recent events including the post attack, while 60 percent say their views has not changed.

Joining us to talk about what this means for U.S. troops and relations with Afghanistan is Major General James "Spider" Marks. General, nice to have you on the program this morning. Good morning to you. Is this latest incident a setback for U.S. strategy, do you think?

GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, it most certainly is. In a very sad way, this incident, the murder of these 16 civilians, is in the Afghan view really eclipsed by the burning of the Korans. However, in the United States with the sanctity of life and the way our Judea-Christian background has been established, we view the 16 murder of 16 civilians -- it's much more grievous to us than I, frankly, think it is to the Afghan people.

And if you look at what happened in Afghanistan after the Koran burning, the violence was immediate. It was extremely vitriolic, it was emotional, and it lasted for a bit of time. It's been incredible in terms of the reaction in the United States. The polls you indicate are not surprising in the least. I think the United States views this as a real inflection point in terms of our presence in Afghanistan. And president Karzai knows that probably as well as anybody in our administration. KAYE: Yes. I mean you have actually told us that this is Obama's war, but that Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in charge. Can you expand on that a little bit?

MARKS: What that means is he certainly is the president of Afghanistan, and we are there as his guests. Clearly we invaded in 2001. We brought him into power. He has been elected. He is a legitimate leader in Afghanistan, regardless of how we view how he's conducting business and the tense nature of our relationship. That is to be expected.

But what he says in that country, we must listen to. So when the president of Afghanistan says, look, I want all U.S. soldiers out of my villages and back into your major bases, we have to abide that. Now, if that's a permanent change in terms of the mission, we have serious decisions to make in the very near term. Our president has committed to getting the fight in Afghanistan right. He was absolutely correct in terms of supporting a surge. I disagree with establishing a time line relative to that surge. It was a wonderful operation to go after Osama bin Laden and get him and kill him.

But right now our president is probably very concerned about a call from president Karzai saying, you know, you're making this too difficult on me, I need you guys to leave, and I need you guys to leave as soon as possible, not on the timeline we've agreed to.

KAYE: What's your expert opinion? If the soldiers and troops are confined and they have to stay out of the villages as car someday said, does it change the mission? Can it even succeed?

MARKS: A couple of things here, Randi. It there's a permanent change in mission posture, absolutely the mission has changed. Those forces are on bases are not going to stay there. We need to get out. We still have a responsibility to train the Afghan security forces and the Afghan military. That can be done on those bases and in protected areas that does not put our soldiers at riff income those villages.

And that's really what it's all about, it's about lowering the global heat on the U.S. presence. It's not anyone on the fence to become a bad guy to go target U.S. forces in the villages. But if U.S. forces are now permanently restricted to forward operating bases, this is a completely different mission than what we signed up for. We have to get out of there and leave behind what we have to leave behind on the timeline that's there. You can still make some goodness out of this. It has to be done aggressively. I can promise you that's what's happening in our State Department and Defense Department right now.

KAYE: I want to ask you about the incident itself. Obviously we don't know what happened here yet, but what is your take on it? Given your experience in the battlefield, what do you think might have happened here?

MARKS: Randi, it's a real tragic even that's occurred. Now he's a known commodity. He has a face, he has name, and he also has a record. His record, quite frankly, in uniform is exemplary. Is he a man without flaws? Absolutely not. He's had some challenges. But this is man who stepped up post 9/11 and stepped up and done exceptionally well multiple times. So he's given at the office.

Now he's deployed to Afghanistan. Something went terribly wrong. His internal gyroscope went completely out of whack and he went over the edge. What we must do is paint every soldier, every marine, every service member, with the same brush. And 99 percent of these incredible Americans have honored all of us with their service. This is very tragic accident -- not an accident, a very tragic incident that occurred that involve add U.S. soldier and as a result 16 civilians in Afghanistan were killed. This is bad on multiple levels, but let's focus on the good news and what we can do to continue to help Afghanistan.

KAYE: General "Spider" Marks, it's nice to have you on the show this morning. Thank you.

Coming up, new 9/11 tapes giving insight to the deadly shooting of around unarmed Florida teenager. You will hear those tapes next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Outraged charges of racial profiling calls for justice in one Florida town after an unarmed teenager was shot and killed. His name is Trayvon Martin and he was on his way home from a convenience store last month when a neighborhood watch captain called 911 to report a suspicious man. Police told that captain, George Zimmerman, not to confront Martin. But when they arrived they found Martin dead with a gunshot wound to his chest. Zimmerman, who has not been charged, says he shot the boy in self-defense. Now those 911 tapes have been released, including one of the shooter. David Mattingly has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just heard a shot behind my house.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Shock, confusion, and fear -- you can hear it the voice of every caller in the final moments of Trayvon Martin's young life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The person is dead. He's lying on the ground. Oh, my god.

MATTINGLY: Seven 911 calls in all beginning with this one from neighborhood watch Captain George Zimmerman. That's Zimmerman's first impression watching Trayvon Martin walking alone acting strangely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy looks like he's up to no good or on drugs.

MATTINGLY: Then Zimmerman says he Martin comes toward him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's something wrong with him. He's coming to check me out. He's got something in his hands.

MATTINGLY: Less than a minute later, Martin is running way a way. Zimmerman gets out of his car. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you following him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't need you to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

MATTINGLY: But then just a few minutes later there's another call.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911 -- do you need police or medical?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I may need both. I'm not sure. There's screaming in the background.

MATTINGLY: In the background, listen for the sound of a voice and a panicked voice yelling for help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it a male or female?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounds like a male. I don't know why. Think they're yelling help. I don't know. Send someone quick, please.

MATTINGLY: Ten seconds later the shrieking continues, then a gunshot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think he's yelling help?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. There's gunshots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just heard gunshots?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just one.

MATTINGLY: The identity of the person pleading for help is in dispute as well as the number of gunshots. But there is no doubt the calls capture the sounds of a deadly end to a tragic encounter.

David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: They haven't commit add crime, but these children are locked away behind bars. Up next, you'll meet the CNN hero who's working to provide them with life's necessities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Right now in Nepal about 80 children are growing up behind bars, not because of anything they did but because of their parents' crime. This week's CNN hero is trying to give them a better life, sacrificing her life for theirs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUSHPA BASNET, CNN HERO: In Nepal when parents have been arrested by the police and the children don't have a local guardian, some children go to prison with the parents. The first time I visited, I was studied social work. I saw a small group. A girl grabbed my shawl and she gave me a smile. It was really hard for me to forget that.

My name is Pushpa Basnet, and my mission is to make sure no child grows up behind prison walls.

In 2005 I started a daycare where the children can come from the jail in the morning and go back to the jail in the afternoon. We have children who are from two to four. We have coloring, reading, studying five days a week. We started in 2007. We have children mostly about six years old. I don't get a day off, but I never get tired. A big family with lots and lots of love.

When I started this it was 21 years old. People thought I was crazy, but this is what I wanted in my life. I'm giving what a normal child should have. I want to fulfill all their dreams.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: CNN heroes are all chosen from people that you tell us about. Go to CNNHeroes.com to nominate someone that you think is making a big difference in your community.

In less than 24 hours voters in Puerto Rico will head to the polls for your the primary, but will Rick Santorum's gaffe over making English the main language cost him the Latino vote? Our political experts weigh in. They're highly caffeinated and they'll be weighing in in just about five minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It's about half past the hour. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for starting your morning with us.

Checking top stories, in Afghanistan today, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets chanting "Death to America." They're furious over a deadly shooting rampage blamed on a U.S. soldier. The soldier has been identified as Staff Sergeant Robert Bales. He's being held this morning in a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

A rally in support of Syria's opposition uprising is said to get underway in Washington shortly. Demonstrators are marking the one-year anniversary of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Explosion in Syria's capital today killed more than two dozen people.

And former Nazi death camp guard and retired Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk has died in Germany at age 91. He was found guilty last year of being an accessory to nearly 28,000 deaths during World War II and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Hollywood heavyweight George Clooney out of jail this morning. Police took Clooney and his father and others, including members of Congress, into custody during a protest outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington yesterday. He was charged with a misdemeanor, fined, and later released. Clooney, who testified before the Senate and met with President Obama about the earlier this week, had this to say about his involvement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: You never know if you're accomplishing anything. All we're trying do is bring attention to a moment in time that is actually important. We hope that this brings attention to it. We hope it helps. And we hope that the people understand that there really is a ticking clock on this and that we need to get moving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Clooney recently returned to a trip to the Sudan. He said the government has killed and injured civilians in a series of bombings and is asking that humanitarian aid be allowed into the country.

President Obama's reelection campaign is $5 million richer today. He received a star-studded welcome in Atlanta following fundraising stops in Chicago yesterday. Filmmaker Tyler Perry hosted a $38,000 a plate dinner at his house. Among the guests, Oprah Winfrey. Perry says Mr. Obama has made what once seemed impossible possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYLER PERRY, ACTOR: Everything that I've imagined, I never thought --

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: -- there would be a day that the presidential motorcade would come through southwest Atlanta giving all these little boys and girls a glimpse of what destiny looks like.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: As Puerto Rican voters get ready to take part in tomorrow's Republican primary, the candidates have been talking a lot about what language those voters should be speaking. Rick Santorum has said in order for Puerto Rico to become a state, English must be its principal language. As you can imagine that hasn't gone over too well where Spanish is the dominant language. Joining me now CNN contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and Republican analyst Lenny McAllister. Both English and Spanish are already official language of Puerto Rico, so what is Rick Santorum trying to do here, and who is he reaching out to? Maria, I'm going to start with you on this one.

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think what Rick Santorum is try dog is focus on his own principles. Give him credit for that. He didn't go down to pander to the people to get their vote. That wouldn't work anyway. That's exactly what Mitt Romney is trying to do. Santorum is still focused the very conservative segment of the party that I think he already has, I think, a handle on and has a lot of support from. He didn't go down to Puerto Rico to tell the Puerto Rican people what he thought they wanted to hear, and that's what Romney has done. I don't think it's going to help Romney in the long run.

But let's just put things where they are. The Republican Party is in hot water with the Latino votes. No candidate gets about 14 percent. They're in big trouble when it comes to that in the general election.

KAYE: Lenny, does it hurt Rick Santorum with the Latino voters?

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No, I think actually what this does is shows he has a little bit of conviction when this comes to this. This is something they look for in candidates. Do you keep consistency as you move forward or do you all of a sudden start changing where you're going to stand on issues based on who you're talking to? That is a criticism and has been a criticism of Mitt Romney.

Santorum is riding the line pretty well. He says, listen, I understand the culture but when we talk principle language in America. He says if you're going to be the 51st state, English should be the principal language. He didn't say official. He said the principal language of the new state should be English. I agree with him. I think he's riding the line to give cultural respect but trying to say, listen, we need a language that unified this diverse nation, and that should be the language of English.

KAYE: Let's talk about potential V.P. candidates. Some voters have told us they would like to know who they choose for a running mate before they make a choice. Maria, why don't the candidates want to go there yet?

CARDONA: Well, thing because they haven't --

KAYE: Maria first.

CARDONA: Sorry. They haven't sealed the at all with themselves, first of all. So I don't think they can choose a vice president until they seal a deal with their own personalities, and I think that's the big problem they're having right now.

KAYE: For fun let's see the GOP candidates were going to reach out for a political running mate right now. What kind of V.P. personal ad might Romney put out there, do you think?

MCALLISTER: Well, if it were Mitt Romney, he would probably say something along these lines, "Presumed Republican nominee looking for someone special that excites Latinos, minorities, Catholics, and women." Now considering southern Tuesday, he'll probably be looking for a different types of grits this time around, and it would have to be somebody who bring the cool to the partnership since he's more of the straight and narrow type of guy. Now when it comes to something along those lines you'd have to be looking at Suzanna Martinez or a Nikki Haley, I would have to imagine.

KAYE: What would Rick Santorum's look like? MCALLISTER: Probably something along the line of "Courageous, one-time also-ran candidate now a Republican front-runner, seeks a partner to who will secure two big must-win states this fall." That person will have to have experience to taking down a candidate establishment. That sounds like Marco Rubio.

KAYE: Very quickly Gingrich, so we can get to Maria's too.

MCALLISTER: He's a cheerful Republican presidential hopeful looking for someone who can deliver red states full of Latinos, conservatives, and Republican delegates. That sounds like Rick Perry.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: I love the cheerful note. That's very good. All right, Maria, your take. Let's start with Romney for you as well. What would his match ad look like?

CARDONA: So Romney would be "Very wealthy billionaire dapper Dan-man, looking for -- desperately seeking a partner who can -- who is fluent and can speak average Joe, who loves dogs, and who can make me look 15 percent to 17 percent edgier."

KAYE: Oh, I love the loves dogs. I love it. Very good.

CARDONA: Thank you.

KAYE: What about Santorum?

CARDONA: Santorum would have to be desperately seeking partner for magical days and nights at the White House who can balance out not so mainstream conservative values, and alls I ask is please do not Google me.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: And Gingrich?

CARDONA: Gingrich would have to be "Historian turned politician, again, desperately seeking partner who can take me to Tampa, and if you get me to the White House, I will promise you the moon."

KAYE: And help him win any state.

CARDONA: Thank you, and help him win any state.

KAYE: Any state, exactly. That was a lot of fun. I think we should play that match game as we get closer.

(LAUGHTER)

CARDONA: I agree.

KAYE: See what else we can come up with. All right, we'll see you next week.

CARDONA: Thanks so much, Randi.

MCALLISTER: God bless. Take care.

KAYE: Studying your March Madness bracket this morning? So am I. Let's compare. Stay here with CNN SATURDAY MORNING where news doesn't take the weekend off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: All right, so we're talking March Madness here. Reynolds is here to talk a little bit about it. Look at this. How convenient. We have my bracket up.

WOLF: I'm disgusted. I really am. Can I give everybody idea what's going on here? Randi is not really into the whole basketball thing. This is the first time she's filled out a bracket. If you look at her score, she's getting 97 overall percent. She nailed the northeast it. It's equivalent to going to Augusta and on the 18th hole nailing a hole-in-one in the middle of a hurricane. You've done an amazing job. As we scroll down let's look at what you have here for your final four. Kentucky, Louisville -- who do you have winning?

KAYE: Syracuse. And all of my final four teams are still in.

WOLF: Unbelievable.

KAYE: I had help.

WOLF: One of the few that you missed yesterday and a lot of people did, of course, was the Duke and Lehigh game. That was an amazing game. That was one of those situations, you take a look at the video here, every team in the tournament believes to be here. What happened last night with Duke University was one of those weird things where they've run great plays, they have a great coaches and great athletes, but sometimes shots do not fall. That was the situation last night, not taking anything away from Lehigh at all. Who knows how far they're going go. That was one of three huge upsets yesterday.

KAYE: You would have picked duke.

WOLF: I would have.

KAYE: It's probably best you didn't fill one out.

WOLF: I'm going to let you lead. You're the expert. My gosh, you are doing great so far.

KAYE: Give credit to my producer.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: NCAA March Madness is taking over America, of course. You can watch every gave live on CBS, TruTV, and TBS.

All right, forget "Harry Potter," forget "Twilight." A new phenomenon will be taking over the pop culture next week. I'll tell you what it is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Get ready to tear down those Justin Bieber and Robert Pattinson posters. Yes, yes, really. I'm not kidding. If you have tweens "Hunger Games" mania might take over your home next week. The film takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where teens are forced to fight each other to the death. Joining me now from Los Angeles is the president of Hollywood.com, Paul Degarabedian. Thanks for coming on the show this morning. First, I'm probably one of the few who hasn't read the whole series. What are the "Hunger Games"? I understand they're pretty violent.

PAUL DEGARABEDIAN, PRESIDENT, HOLLYWOOD.COM: It is pretty violent but I love the concept and I believe it's going to catch on in a big way. This movie has so much going for it. First of all, Jennifer Lawrence is the Oscar nominated actress. She's the star of this film. It's beautifully made, the film, it's highly entertaining.

And I think most importantly for Lions Gate, they're going to get to just the girls, which was the case with the "Twilight" films, they're going to get the boys in there as well. On top of that you're going to get the older audiences who are intrigued by this idea and they'll probably read the book as well. You have these great veteran actors in the midst of these younger teen actors. So this could be called a four-quadrant movie, playing to men, women, boys, and girls under 25, over 25. It's not for little kids. I wouldn't take a five-year-old. It is a PG-13. But it is a terrific film.

KAYE: Let's talk about the plot of it. What happens during the "Hunger Games"?

DEGARABEDIAN: I won't give too much away. There are 12 districts around the world rather than countries, and they pick two kids between the ages of eight and 18 in each district go into this battle royal that's basically -- to me it's like "Survivor" meets "Lord of the Flies," and that's what it sort of plays like but it's televised for a worldwide audience. It's great commentary on media, pop culture, governmental control over the populous. And so it has a lot of very deep themes. It's a very so sophisticated movie. It isn't just vampires versus werewolves. This is a big deal. There's a lot more stake in the "Hunger Games."

KAYE: Could this be, dare I say it, bigger than "Twilight?" The film has sold out more than 1,700 previews.

DEGARABEDIAN: That's right. Look, people always throw around these big opening weekend numbers. I would think a hundred million-plus is in the cards for this film but you never know until it opens. Based on the pre-released tracking, the online sales you mentioned, the Imax sales, all that, people are saying it could as much as $150 million. Would that be bigger than "Twilight," well, the last "Twilight" film, "Breaking Dawn, Part I" opended with $138 million. I think Lion's Gate would be thrilled with that result.

Here's the difference. It will play for the long haul. This will be rare intersection of critical acclaim mixed with massive audience appeal. The average person who is going to see the movie will love it. Critics will love it. And it's rare that you love it. The "Twilight" movies were not well reviewed. They didn't need to be. They made it because of the fervor and the excitement surrounding those films that that didn't hurt the movie at all.

KAYE: Paul, before I let you go, I want to ask you about "Luck," the HBO show. It's owned be I our parent company, Time Warner. The original series ironically named "Luck." it stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte. It's been canceled after third horse died on set last week. Do you recall anything like this ever happening before?

DEGARABEDIAN: I know of shows being cancelled for controversy and different things, but not specifically animals, and beloved animals. People love horses. This was a P.R. nightmare once that got out. The show didn't have huge ratings anyway for an HBO kind of show. But it had great pedigree, great actors, but I don't know. Maybe it was going to eventually be canceled anyway and this was an excuse to get that done. I don't know. It's just sad and kind of tragic for the whole production that this had to happen, because there were great people attached to that project. And I'm sure obviously it had its followers and maybe over time would have built an even bigger audience. But it wasn't a "Boardwalk Empire" or the "Sopranos," and luck ran out. It's sad about the horses definitely.

KAYE: It sure is. Paul, thank you very much. Nice to see you on this Saturday morning.

DEGARABEDIAN: Thank you. I appreciate it.

KAYE: The news doesn't take the weekend off, but hopefully you do. Grab a drink, coffee, put up your feet. Stick around for this. Some of the coolest videos coming your way, including a special bond between a gorilla and a rabbit.

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KAYE: All right, welcome back. Reynolds and I have been looking all morning for our favorite videos, favorite snapshots of the morning, and I want to show you the first one. It's a gorilla and a bunny that have become good friends. It's a bit of an unusual pairing. It's at the Erie, Pennsylvania, zoo. The gorilla is Samantha and the bunny named Panda.

WOLF: Why would you have a bunny named panda?

KAYE: I don't know. But Samantha apparently needed some company. She's been alone since 2005. And, you know, she feeds this little bunny rabbit and she takes care of it, holds it like a little pet. And it's really sweet.

WOLF: Do you think it's a happy relationship or she going to fatten it up and eat it for Easter?

KAYE: No, no, no. That's why it works. It's a relationship that works.

WOLF: It's a beautiful thing.

KAYE: Another rare sight, this one we also found for you. This is out of London. Check this out. This is a proud English guard somehow passes out. Watch it there. He actually passes out at the St. Patrick's Day parade. He falls right to the ground. It takes a couple of seconds. They finally come. They're not supposed to move.

WOLF: Absolutely. They're supposed to stand there like statutes. That's pretty bizarre.

KAYE: It's incredible to look at him go down like that. Just a couple of our favorites and hopefully he's OK.

All right, we're going to take a quick break here, and we'll be right back.

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KAYE: Coming up on 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast. Time to check out on top stories around the nation. First to Oregon.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes me sick because there are sex offenders out there. To me, she's still a little girl.

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KAYE: That was Christina Marie Lopez in January sounding like a concerned parent, outraged that a local strip club would hire her underage daughter to dance. But since that time surveillance has surfaced. Police say it shows the 47-year-old mother watching her 17- year-old daughter dance and allegedly giving her money. The club claims the teen lied about her age. The mother now faces child abuse charges.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was my worst nightmare seeing an animal pulling my daughter under water. It was to me like a scene from "Jaws."

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KAYE: In Florida a mother is being credited for saving her daughter from a shark. The mother and daughter were long boarding when the shark clamped down on the girl's ankle and pulled her off the board. Here's a picture of the wound. Luckily some surfers helped them to shore and a nearby ambulance.

In Arizona, moments of panic when nine passengers on a hot air balloon crashed into power lines. According to affiliate KOLD, four people suffered severe burns when parts of the balloon caught fire. The Federal Aviation Administration is now investigating.