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CNN Saturday Morning News

Alleged 9/11 Mastermind On Trial in Guantanamo Bay; President Official Begins Reelection Campaign; Beastie Boy Adam Yauch Dies; North Carolina May Pass Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment to State Constitution; Anti-Bullying Activist Interviewed; Comedian Discusses Recent Popular Media Topics

Aired May 05, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is Saturday morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has to be the death penalty.

KAYE: Families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks arrive in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the alleged mastermind behind the notorious day of terror is arraigned. We'll take you there.

Plus President Obama officially kicks off his campaign in Ohio. We'll take you there live.

We'll talk to one bullied teen who pulls himself from the brink of suicide and becomes an activist for other victims.

And comedian Bill Santiago is back. His take on Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Simpson's pregnancy weight, and the tannest mom in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It is 10:00 on the east coast, 7:00 on the west. A lot to tell you about this morning, so let's get you caught up on the news.

The arraignment for the man who is probably the most notorious terrorist alive is underway right now. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, dubbed KSM, has proudly admitted he masterminded the 9/11 terrorist attack, planning the hijacking that brought down the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, taking thousands of innocent American lives. But today attorneys say he and four other alleged terrorists will like plead not guilty in front of a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They all face the death penalty if convicted, but the trial could take years.

The woman at the center of the Colombian prostitution scandal that has shaken the Secret Service is calling the agents involved "a bunch of fools." Dania Suarez says she was introduced to one of the men by a friend and went back with him to the hotel room. She says she didn't even know that he was an agent, but he went to sleep and left confidential files right out in the open. And she says when he awoke he pushed her out of the door and refused to pay her $800 for the night. That's when she went to the police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIA SUAREZ, ALLEGED ESCORT: of course, at that moment if I had been a member of one of those terrorist gangs, it's obvious that I would have gotten everything. Just like the newspaper say, I put them in checkmate. They are a bunch of fools. They are responsible for Obama security and they still let this happen. I told them, I am going to call the police so that they would pay me my money. They didn't care. They didn't see the magnitude of the problem. I could have done 1,000 other things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Suarez says her life as an escort is now over but she says she is open to posing in men's magazines.

People in the music world and beyond are mourning the death of Adam Yauch, a cofounder of the groundbreaking rap group the Beastie Boys. Yauch passed away at age 47 after a three-year battle with cancer. And here's just some of the reaction we've found on Twitter. From rapper Eminem, "I think it's obvious to anyone how big of an influence the Beastie Boys were on me and so many others." Singer Justin Timberlake says that he is, quote, "crushed" to hear the news of Adam Yauch's passing, calling him "a true pioneer of art."

"I don't need a baby sitter," that's what a former campaign advise says John Edwards told him when the adviser warned him to stay away from Rielle Hunter. It was the latest twist in the corruption trial of the former presidential candidate. Prosecutors say Edwards broke federal campaign finance laws by accepting large donations from two supporters to cover up his affair with Hunter and then lying about how that money was used. If convicted on all six counts Edwards could face up to 30 years in prison.

President Obama officially kicks off his 2012 campaign today, and later this hour he and first lady Michelle Obama head to Columbus, Ohio. They will headline a rally in the critical battleground state before heading on to Virginia. Mitt Romney will be in Ohio on Monday.

Let's get more now from CNN's Jessica Yellin in Columbus, Ohio, following the president for us. Jessica, good morning. What should we expect to hear from President Obama today?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Randi. When the president hits the stage in the arena behind me, this is the first time that we are going to hear him deliver a purely political message in a campaign format in public. We have heard him read some of his fundraising messages in private, and that's why he talks about this message that what it was like when he was on the campaign trail in 2008. He tries to frame a narrative of what the campaign and the presidency -- where America has fought through since then and what it would be like in the campaign's terms if the U.S. went back. Now you're going to hear him deliver that message behind me. The one thing that is going to be slightly different is when you see him go state to state they're going to tweak their message slightly. Here in Ohio expect him to punch harder on the auto bailout message, maybe when he's in Virginia you'll hear him emphasize women's issues a little bit more because they're targeting slightly different audiences in each state. Randi?

KAYE: Jessica, Obama campaign, they are pouring resources into Ohio, right? He won Ohio in 2008 but right now he's trailing Romney when it comes to the economy.

YELLIN: He is trailing, absolutely, Romney on the economy. It's a statistical heat on the overall head to head matchup. And there are 18 field offices compared to none for Romney. And the president is vying for this state. We visited with their team this week and they have a digital director just to handle digital outreach in this state alone. So they are a real presence. This campaign has spent, depending on how you count, $89 million to $120 million already, the Obama campaign has, since the campaign began. We've been focusing on the Republican primaries, but they have had an operation in the field quietly while we haven't been paying attention for quite some time, Randi.

KAYE: I'm sure. And Obama has been to Ohio 20 times since he took office and Romney has been there twice in the last month. Why do you say Ohio is a critical swing state in this election?

YELLIN: Well, Ohio is always a battleground, and it's a battleground that sometimes goes Democrat or goes Republican, and the economy has struggled for many years. The unemployment rate is lower than the national average. I would say this is a different kind of year. We always in the political media say the way Ohio goes, so goes the nation. This time Obama team is making the case that they in fact believe that they can win the presidency without winning Ohio, that they have other routes on the 270 battleground map that they need.

But still, as you can tell by the president's presence here today, they are not giving up here and many argue that here in Columbus, this is the most swing area of this swing state so this area will get a lot of attention and the president is deploying a lot of sort of new digital media resources at this event here so there will be a lot of new technology deployed to keep your eye out for as the rally is unveiled today, Randi.

KAYE: Jessica Yellin, thank you for that report.

And keep it right here today at 1:00 eastern. CNN will bring you president Obama's first campaign speech of the election from Columbus, Ohio. That is scheduled to get under way at 1:00 eastern right here on CNN.

Now to the story of Junior Seau. His family will allow researchers to study his brain. They want to know if repeated concussions, which the family says he suffered from, caused damage to the former player's brain. He was found dead with a gunshot wound to his chest this week. His death has been classified as a suicide, but a final autopsy report may take up to 90 days to complete.

And before you go to sleep tonight, well, make sure that you get a good look at the moon, the super-moon, that is. There's really no way you're going to miss it because it is huge. The moon may appear up to 14 percent larger but and a third brighter than any full moon this year. For the best views, NASA says look on the horizon right after sunset.

It's been called the greatest two minutes in sports. In a little more than eight hours, the 138th running of the Kentucky derby is scheduled to kick off. The race has never been canceled due to weather. Let's check in with Reynolds to see if there's a chance it might be canceled, delayed. What do you think?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: If there's any kind of electricity out there, they will certainly delay it. The good thing is with a lot of thunderstorms, they don't last that long, they dissipate or move on. We're hoping that is going to be the scenario should they form. Right now we have a live image, camera zoom. You can see the slow track of people that make their way into Churchill Downs. Of course they will see the race. The forecast calling for a high of 82 degrees and unfortunately, that includes a chance of scattered showers and storms, Randi.

KAYE: Reynolds, thank you.

WOLF: You bet.

KAYE: The arraignment of one of the most notorious man in the world opened with an argument about clothes. This morning the man accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks is in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and we will take you there live.

But, first, a very good morning to folks in Raleigh, North Carolina.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Right now the man accused of planning the 9/11 attacks are in court. One of the first issues at hand, what clothes they are able to wear at the hearing. Defense lawyers want Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to be able to wear vests and turbans. Mohammed is the admitted mastermind of 9/11, blamed for the attack that killed nearly 3,000 people. After Osama bin Laden's death, he's probably the most notorious terrorist alive. Our Pentagon correspondence Chris Lawrence is in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. What is happening in court right now?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Randi, a couple hours ago when we talked you mentioned it could be a circus atmosphere, and in less than an hour it certainly lived up to that already. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for a while asked was, "Can you hear me?" There was total silence in the courtroom and then after that there became just this long, drawn out back and forth between his defense attorney and the judge over whether Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will even participate. His defense attorney says that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is choosing not to participate because he was tortured, because of the way that he was treated not only in the last year, year and a half, but this morning as well. He does not believe in the fairness of the court.

Also one of the other defendants, Wali Bin Atash, was brought in shackles. There was talk about something that he did outside of the courtroom that got him in the shackles, and there was another back and forth again about how and when he should be unshackled. Finally his attorney said, he will behave, he can be unshackled.

And then as it got to a third member, he stopped the proceedings to pray, took out his earpiece, stepped to the side of the table, and then proceeded to do the prayer at about 10:00 in the morning. So really, I don't know much of anything that's gotten done yet. It's just been veering from one side issue to another. Very, very curious start to the morning, Randi.

KAYE: I was going to ask you about a timetable with all of the delays but is there any -- do you have any idea how long something like this might go on before we actually see a judgment here?

LAWRENCE: Well, this will are go on today. A lot depends on whether they are going to choose to participate. The judge made it clear, if they are not going to participate and we're not going to hold up these proceedings because of that, if he's not going to enter a plea, then a plea of not guilty will be entered for him. Once that happens, we're still a long way away from any sort of resolution. A lot of the families, the 9/11 victim's families have journeyed here to Guantanamo Bay. They are here in the court watching these proceedings. They know that it will be years before they get ultimate resolution but they were hoping that today would be sort of a first start in trying to come to some grips with what's happened.

KAYE: Chris Lawrence in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for us. Thank you very much. You can follow developments here at CNN or on our Web site at CNN.com.

Next, a 16-year-old bullying victim pulls himself from the brink of suicide to hope. We'll chat with him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Today I have good news to share about bullying. I want to tell you about Matt Shankles, a 16-year-old student who turned the table on bullying and didn't let the bad guys bring him down. When his classmates found out he was gay, some relentlessly bullied him to the point where he almost committed suicide. And when someone created a Twitter account to bully other students, Matt had enough and did just the opposite. He created the Twitter handle to spread support and sent positive messages to bullying victims. Matt joins me life via Skype. Good morning. Let's talk about how you were bullied, first off. When did it start, and is it still continuing today?

MATT SHANKLES, ANTI-BULLYING ADVOCATE: Yes. It really started throughout middle school. It was the worst during my eighth grade year. It was really kind of a growing process. And as for being bullied today, I am still bullied some. I cannot walk home without having absurd things screamed out car windows at me, so I'm really adamant about getting rides home from people.

KAYE: What do some of the bullies say?

SHANKLES: They will call you bad names, a homo or a fag, or just things like that that make you feel worthless.

KAYE: What was your breaking point? When did you decide that this was just too much?

SHANKLES: Well, I never understood how I was different, like I still don't to this day. So a friend of mine said, hey, maybe we can make you act straighter, and I kind of just snapped a little bit.

KAYE: And that was it?

SHANKLES: Yes.

KAYE: I know at one point -- this is probably hard for to you talk about -- but at one point you actually considered taking your life and having done so many stories about bullying, many feel that is the only way out. Luckily you got passed that terrible, horrifying moment. What were you feeling at that point and how were you able to get passed it?

SHANKLES: Well, I felt like the most worthless thing on the face of planet earth. That's how I described it. And really I don't really know how I continued. I guess once I got out of that point, I continued as I thought I should have.

KAYE: Did you think there were bigger things for you to accomplish? Is that what brought you through it?

SHANKLES: No. I actually developed a sense in my head somewhere that people who go through extreme struggles become angels. I believe that I can help people become angels themselves.

KAYE: Let's talk about the Twitter that you created. You were tweeting positive anonymous support to kids who were being bullied. You tweeted "Don't let them get to you ever."

SHANKLES: I have seen the same kind of support, yes, beforehand. But what I really wanted to show people is that there is hope out there for people that are bullied or that are experiencing horrible things said to them, whether it be online or in school.

KAYE: Was the school ever aware that you were being bullied?

SHANKLES: The school -- I did not tell the school because I did not understand that I could get help.

KAYE: What I love about this is that you've taken it so far. You've taken it the extra step. You're actually working on getting bullying legislation in place. Can you tell me about that and your efforts there?

SHANKLES: Yes. Last March I attended the gay and lesbian network where I lobbied and met with state representatives to lobby for national state school legislation.

KAYE: Well, I think it's -- as I said, I think it's great, all of your efforts. And do keep us posted on how things are doing with you at school. We appreciate having you on the show this morning.

SHANKLES: Thank you.

KAYE: Thank you.

And 17-year-old Darnell Young said that bullying drove him to bring a stun gun to school in Indianapolis and fire it. And guess what, he is facing expulsion. The teen says he's been facing daily harassment for years because he's gay. His mother said after reporting his bullying to school more than ten times, she gave him a stun gun for protection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARNELL YOUNG, MAY BE EXPELLED AFTER FIRING STUN GUN AT SCHOOL: I pulled the taser out, pushed it back in the air and went into class. I didn't sit there to see what was going to happen. The police locked me up and talked about -- put me in handcuffs and told me you shouldn't be so flamboyant, maybe the kids won't mess with you that much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHANKLES: And Cleveland, Ohio, high school senior Gabrielle Jones didn't let the years of bullying get her down. She turned her story into hard earned money. Gabrielle won a $50,000 scholarship from a "Stop the Hate" scholarship contest. Way to go, Gabrielle.

If you'd like to sound off on stories about bullying, you can tweet me now or find me on twitter @RandiKayeCNN.

Some lawmakers in North Caroline want to change their constitution. The reason, they want to officially ban same sex marriage. But that's not all. Wait until you find out what else amendment one will do away with.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. In just three days, North Carolina will be making decisions at the polls, the decision to change their state's constitution with something called Amendment One. It's a measure that will define marriage as only between a man and a woman, something several other states have done. But this amendment takes it a step further. Not only would it ban a same-sex marriage, which is already illegal in North Carolina, it would also invalidate civil unions and domestic partnerships between unmarried heterosexual couples too.

As you can imagine, the amendment raises all kinds of legal questions and is causing a whole lot of controversy in the state, both sides spending millions to convince voters. This morning we're focusing on Amendment One. Now we want to put a face to this debate, a real family that will be directly impacted if the amendment passes on Tuesday. Joining me now is Melissa and Libby. They are a couple that have been together for ten years and have a four-year-old daughter. Thank you both for joining me. Melissa, I'd like to start with you. Your daughter will lose her medical benefits if Amendment One passes on Tuesday. Is that how you understand it?

MELISSA HODGES, MARRIED IN VANCOUVER IN 2006: Yes, that is my understanding, because she's not on my health insurance, she's on Libby's.

KAYE: And Libby, you work for the government, is that why that would be a problem?

LIBBY HODGES, MARRIED IN VANCOUVER IN 2006: That's right. This particular version of the amendment, there is a portion of it that allows private contracts to keep coverage but with public entities allowing those types of domestic partnerships.

KAYE: Libby, what is your biggest fear, both short term and long term if this passes?

HODGES: My biggest fear is we just don't know where it will stop. We've put in legal protections. We've had a lot of legal documents to try to protect our family from bad things happening, and I don't know if it means losing health insurance or if that means I won't be able to visit her or Melissa if something goes wrong, if they get hurt, or if I'll be able to make any decisions whatsoever for Moira, my daughter.

KAYE: Melissa, you appeared in a TV spot for the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families. I want to listen to that and then we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA: My fear with Amendment One is that my daughter would lose her health insurance and that she would lose it immediately, simply because we're unmarried. And that's really unfair. And it is completely arbitrary. If you looked at a classroom full of kids and you said, well, which ones do you not want to cover? Someone would say, why are you even doing that? But this is. This amendment is doing that. Amendment One will take away my daughter's health insurance, and that's extremely unfair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: I want you both to know that I played that ad for North Carolina's House Majority Leader Paul Stam, who is a big supporter of Amendment One, and here's what he said and his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL STAM, NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: The vast majority of governmental insurance would not cover her child any way and those handful of cities and counties that have it in that -- of that nature if they reform m at it so they want to cover the unmarried households and children, they could do that if they want to. Now, that would be very poor insurance policy but it would be legal if they want to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Melissa, I want to ask you, how do you feel about reformatting your status, as he said. He said you can get -- a beneficiary can get coverage if you become roommates, someone that pays rent at the household instead of being called a wife, that that has to come off the table. What's your take on it?

MELISSA: Well, one, I think it's wrong to ask me to be untruthful in order to get coverage and I don't understand why an amendment that is intended to protect families would request that our family lie about who we are and lie about being a family in order to get protection.

Also, I think that would require the entity providing the insurance to go through that additional cost. And that seems unreasonable to -- if they don't have a problem, you know, if the intent is for us not to lose our health insurance, then why are we going through this process? Why pass an amendment that requires additional work if the end result is that we would end up with the same thing? It's very confusing to me.

But I think it would cost a lot of money. And, again, I disagree with lying. I'm not going to go and marry someone I'm not in love with that I'm not living with so I can get some legal representation. This is the person I'm sharing my life with. This is the relationship that I have, and that's what I'm asking to be protected. I'm not asking for anything new. I'm not asking for additional. I still can't get married whether it passes or not, although the state won't recognize my marriage if this amendment fails that will not change.

KAYE: Libby, I understand that you moved from Georgia few years ago to get to a more progressive area in North Carolina. Will you stay there? What happens to you both if this passes?

HODGES: We don't know. You know, we came to somewhere where we thought we would have more rights and better protected and everything's on the table. You know, we keep discussing -- I spent nine months unemployed earlier this year -- or last year and I have just gotten this job again. I've just returned to the place that I had worked and it costs too much to move. That is not right.

KAYE: Libby and Melissa, I want to join you both for joining us on this topic. I appreciate that. I also want to thank our viewers at home for hanging with us on that one. We had a little bit of a technical issue there, but that is Skype. Thank you for your patience on that one.

This next story got us all talking. This six-year-old sang a very popular song in school and now he is suspended for sexual harassment. He is six-years-old. I'll explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: I'm waking up to a little Adam Ant. That got me going. I'm awake now. What about you, Reynolds?

WOLF: I wasn't before but that really did it. That was from my teenage years.

KAYE: We've been on the air for four-and-a-half hours, but I'm just waking up.

It seems like this song is everywhere. Have you heard LMFAO's hit single "I'm sexy and I know it." It's pretty catchy, but the mother of a Colorado first grader is wishing her son never came across it. The six-year-old has been suspended for three days for singing those six words to a girl. They say he sexually harassed her. Can you believe that?

WOLF: I can't believe that. That's insane. When you're 6 years old, it's not like it's a testosterone -filled action that you're doing.

KAYE: Sounded like fun lyrics, right?

WOLF: Absolutely.

KAYE: His mother told our affiliate that he had disciplinary problems before including last month when he quoted the same song to the same girl but this time supposedly he was shaking his booty near the girl's face. At six, do you even know you have a booty?

WOLF: I think you know it's there but maybe some of the things that you do with it are questionable. He's a kid. He's 6 years old.

KAYE: This morning we've been asking you at home if you think a first grader can sexually harass someone by quoting a song. Tell us what you think. Reynolds, take it away with the first one.

WOLF: OK. The first one, pretty interesting, "It depends on what he was doing. "Was he gyrating? Then heck yes."

KAYE: And then no, because maybe he does not even know what sexy means.

WOLF: There you go.

KAYE: Jack put it this way. "That's ridiculous, right?"

WOLF: Exactly.

KAYE: What do you think? If you want to respond, keep tweeting, Randi.

WOLF: This whole thing is ridiculous. What do you think, six- years-old?

KAYE: It's too much. They might as well put him in cuffs and march him out of the school, a little over the top. WOLF: I agree.

KAYE: It's all about respecting your classmates but I think it's a little over the top.

WOLF: I agree.

KAYE: OK. All he wanted to do was sell potato chips but what Ashton Kutcher did instead was create a big firestorm. Bill Santiago is with me next with his take on the whole Kutcher controversy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Trying to wake everybody up there on the west coast. Good morning, Hollywood. Actor Ashton Kutcher's commercial is getting him in a whole lot of trouble. Take a look at this ad. Take a closer look at the character Raj from India. That's Kutcher in brown-faced makeup. Many called the ad racist. Pop Chips has since pulled the ad and the parody featuring a variety of characters that was meant to provide a few laughs and did not intend to offend anyone.

Let me bring in comedian and Huffington Post blogger Bill Santiago. Good morning to you.

BILL SANTIAGO, COMEDIAN: Hi. Good morning. How are you?

KAYE: I'm well. Do you think this is racist or just tasteless?

SANTIAGO: Well, look, he's playing all of these different characters. It was a stretch for him. It kind of works. He comes of like a low-rent Peter Sellers. It was the best acting that he's ever done. He definitely would have it in a bag. Was it racist? Just because something isn't funny doesn't mean it's racist. It could be construed as mildly racist, definitely even more mildly humorous. An insult to people's intelligence which means, frankly, there are a lot of people all over the country who were not insulted at all.

KAYE: He hasn't apologized. Even though you may not think it was racist, should he say something?

SANTIAGO: No. I don't think it rises to that level. Everyone is comparing it to black face. That was hateful ridicule. This was clueless caricature. I personally showed my Indian friends and they said maybe I should be offended but I'm not. So I'm going to give Ashton a pass on this one. I don't think you should judge a man by the color of another man's skin even if he has it smeared all over his face.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: Bill, I want to you look at this woman. Take a look at Patricia Krentcil. Look at that. This is not makeup. She took her five-year-old daughter to a tanning booth. That is not makeup. That is her tan.

SANTIAGO: I know. It's unbelievable. First of all, that this is happening at the same time that Ashton is getting bashed for -- and then here comes this melanoma mama. What color is she going for? She's one shade past beef jerky. It's off the charts.

(LAUGHTER)

SANTIAGO: Where else in New Jersey could you walk into a tanning booth looking like that, like a saddle bag with eyes and the owners are going, yes, you can use a little color. Let's crank it up to extra crispy. It's so over the top. Where is her husband and friends in all of this and what does she have to do -- she has to look in the mirror and see that something is not quite right, right? Yes. Obviously somebody is enabling her. She's having a bronzer shade in the morning. It looks like she's got a private home in the ozone layer. I don't know how she's doing it. And they were saying that the kid is endangered. This woman is a danger to herself. The kid looked fine.

KAYE: Apparently there was a little sunburn on the child, but I like that "Melanoma Mama." I'm not going to let you go yet. I want to talk about Jessica Simpson with you about her having a baby last week but her possible multimillion dollar deal to lose weight. We'll talk about that in a moment.

SANTIAGO: All right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, everybody. Bill Santiago is with us. Bill, let's talk about Jessica Simpson.

SANTIAGO: Yes.

KAYE: She was harshly criticized for putting on 40 pounds during her pregnancy. But she may be getting the last laugh here because there are whispers that she may be close to signing a $3 million deal with Weight Watchers.

SANTIAGO: They're paying her $3 million for losing her weight?

KAYE: Yes.

SANTIAGO: That is just ridiculous that a celebrity can monetize every single part of their private life. If you have to pay someone $3 million so that your weight loss product or plan can be effective, I think it actually looks bad for Weight Watchers. If you use Weight Watchers, it will be effective if someone is willing to fund your weight loss with $3 million of capital. It's outrageous, you know.

But I tell you something, I will give her this -- it's an accomplishment no matter what. Just because you pay someone the money, doesn't mean they can lose the weight. You can give Governor Christie twice that amount and I guarantee there is no way he will lose enough weight to fit into his daisy dukes.

KAYE: I think you laid out a challenge for him.

SANTIAGO: It's a challenge, baby.

KAYE: Back to Jessica, though, she certainly knows how to make money. How wild is it that Simpson -- she has a fashion empire and she's going to get paid to lose weight. Remember when the mega stars like Michael Jordan were pushing McDonald's? It's kind of nutty.

SANTIAGO: She doesn't have to wait to lose the weight. What she should do if she wants to make a higher profit, just have the fat lipo-suctioned out of her body and she could auction off the 40 pounds. She'd make a lot more money.

KAYE: And cash that check pretty good. There you go.

SANTIAGO: Yes.

KAYE: I'm sure we'll talk more about this as we do every Saturday on our Twitter accounts. I want to let folks know how to find you on twitter, @BillSantiago.

SANTIAGO: That's right.

KAYE: That was fun. And you can, of course, find me on twitter @randikayeCNN. Bill, see you next Saturday and we'll talk more on twitter later on.

SANTIAGO: All right.

KAYE: Everybody, thank you for starting your morning with me. Join me for a quick break after much more CNN Newsroom at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)