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CNN Saturday Morning News

Glitch in Historic Launch; Blind Activist Heads to U.S.; Woman Says Daughter was Stolen; Manhunt for Husband in Stabbing Death; Romney Repudiates Super PAC Plan

Aired May 19, 2012 - 07:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for starting your morning with us. We've got much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING which starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (voice-over): From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

A bride stabbed to death in her bathtub, the suspect, her husband. Now, an international manhunt as the FBI follows leads to Mexico.

And it's a multi-million dollar business, international baby adoption. A heart-wrenching story sheds light on the struggles of overseas adoptions, with the baby business in focus.

And how many people like Facebook's initial public offering Friday, you might be surprised. We break down the social network's newest circle of friends.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It is 7:00. Thanks for waking up with us.

Let's get you caught up on some of the news.

We start with the glitch in the new space plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Four, three, two, one, zero, and lift off -- we've had a cut off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: That is the Dragon spacecraft on launch pad on a launch pad in Cape Canaveral. It was supposed to blast off this morning for historic mission to the International Space Station. But when they hit zero on the countdown, well, nothing happened.

CNN's John Zarrella joining me now from Miami.

Good morning, John. So, from what I understand, it was about, what, about a half second left when the actual launch was supposed to happen when they aborted.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, 0.5 seconds before zero is when the engines actually all nine, there are nine engines, the computer -- the onboard computer system went ahead and shut everything down because they had experienced a glitch in engine number five. It was running with too much pressure, could mean a bunch of things, bottom line is at lift off, they need all nine engines to be firing and firing perfectly.

Just finished a news conference at Kennedy Space Center where the president of Space X talked about how, you know, this -- that they'll have people at the launch pad later today, but that this is not a failure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GWYNNE SHOTWELL, PRESIDENT, SPACE X: This is not a failure. We aborted with purpose, it would be a failure if were to have lifted off with an engine trending in this direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Gwynne Shotwell, and Gwynne saying had you lifted off bad things could happen, they would not have been able to probably reach orbit and certainly not the international space station, which is the mission. Space X attempting to be the first commercial company, Randi, to actually get a spacecraft, their Dragon spacecraft that sits on top of Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station, to rendezvous and berth.

No commercial company has ever been able to do that -- Randi.

KAYE: And this is an unmanned mission, correct? I mean, this is just about bringing supplies and some things.

ZARRELLA: Yes, unnamed mission. It's a test flight, a demonstration flight. And it's just got -- it's got cargo on it, but it's a kind of cargo that should something go wrong, it's not going to be terribly missed is the way it was put to me.

But understand this -- this need to be successful because NASA decided that it could no longer continue to fly space shuttles, and build a rocket that could take humans to an asteroid and mars, just not enough money. So, they are turning over low earth orbit, servicing the International Space Station to commercial companies. Space X happens to be the first one ready to make this next leap, this attempt but -- so it's hugely critical that they get this right down the road.

KAYE: Yes, no question about that. A lot of jobs on the line, too, as well.

ZARRELLA: Absolutely.

KAYE: John Zarrella, thank you very much. Appreciate it. ZARELLA: Sure.

KAYE: The hunt for a man accused of killing his bride on their wedding night has moved to Mexico. That's where the FBI believes Arnoldo Jimenez has fled. His parents live in Mexico. It's been exactly a week since Jimenez stabbed his new bride in his Illinois apartment. She was found in the bathtub.

Jimenez phone was tracked to the Texas-Mexico border. And he's charged with first degree murder.

President Obama kicks off a major international gathering at Camp David in just a couple hours here. He's hosting the leaders of other G8 nations there in Maryland, where the European financial crisis, front and center on the agenda. The stakes, of course, are high. The leaders are working on plans to head off any further trouble in the eurozone.

Meanwhile, protesters are gathered in Chicago for the NATO summit. Afghanistan is expected to be one of the main points of discussion there.

Donna Summer's family wants to clear the air about the singer's death.

The disco queen died Thursday at the age of 63. Her family says it was lung cancer, but Donna Summer wasn't a smoker, and the family says the cancer wasn't related to smoking. The family says they wanted to quell any rumors surrounding Summer's cause of death. They also say details about her diagnosis and treatments are between them and the doctors.

A fiery explosion ended a nearly six hour stand-off with police in British Colombia. A man who police strapped explosives to his body was holed up in the house, he had holding his ex-girlfriend hostage, among with her four children and her new boyfriend. But they got out before the blast. Police say the suspect, who is presumed to be dead, was still distraught over the break-up two years ago.

A blind Chinese activist fled house arrest in the dead of night and sought shelter at the U.S. embassy in Beijing for six tense days. Now, Chen Guangcheng, his wife and two kids are on their way to the U.S., all of this unfolding this morning.

CNN's Stan Grant is joining us from Beijing.

Good morning, Stan.

So, Chen arrived at the Beijing airport today. Was the timing of this just completely unexpected?

STAN GRANT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Took us by surprise and a lot of other media as well. Suddenly, we heard that Chen was at the airport, he'd spoken to people saying he had arrived there without a passport. He and his family ready to fly to New York for this new life in the United States. Apparently, Chinese officials were holding documentation with them until they cleared immigration. But this was a dramatic twist in what has been an extraordinary story -- a story of twist and turns. You just outlined there, Randi, I mean, it's a cliche but really this does read like a Hollywood script. Blind activist leaves on the cover of darkness, escapes house arrest, flees to the U.S. embassy. Then, you have this diplomatic stand of between China and United States. Finally, China relents and gives him the passport, now on his way to the United States.

Cheng says he simply can't stay in China. He fears for his life here in recent days. He said that his family, who have been left behind, brother, nephews, extended family have been arrested, beaten. His nephew is being placed on attempted murder charge for defending himself against these attacks.

So, not the environment he felt safe in, now of course winging his way to New York, where a job is waiting for him at New York University.

KAYE: And so, he's headed to Newark, right? I mean, you mention the job at NYU. Do we know where he's going to stay, or does he have help or some guidance there?

GRANT: There has been a lot of support for him, a big Chinese community inside the United States, and a big Chinese Christian community as well are being very vocal and very supportive throughout the story. He has friends within the academic community there, a close friend in New York University who provided this position for him.

So it looks as though things will be taken care of at that end. But you think about this, Randi, he is a man who has lived his entire life in China. He doesn't speak English, mind, self-taught lawyer, lived in a small village and going to be in New York, leaving behind everything he knows, and the family he is very, very unlikely to ever able to return and see again.

KAYE: Yes. And, Stan, I think a lot of watching this might wonder, well, why is China so willing to let him go?

GRANT: Yes, that is a puzzling question, when you consider how tense the stand off was, you hear about the reports behind the scenes, Randi, the raised voices, the arguments, the finger pointing between China and the United States. China is still demanding an apology from the U.S. for allowing Chen to hold out in the embassy.

Many people interpret it though as being a sign by China that they simply want to get rid of this problem. Someone they have seen as an enemy of the state, they jailed him, they put him under house arrest. Still, he's managed to escape, they want him out of the country.

Before he has left, though, there's been a campaign in the media here to blacken his name, to portray him as a traitor, as even a U.S. spy. China is determined he's not being seen as a heroic figure here, Randi.

KAYE: Fascinating story.

Stan Grant in Beijing -- thank you very much.

And now, here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are working on:

A Guatemalan mother said her daughter was stolen. Now, the 7-year-old girl is in a middle of an international custody battle between that mom and her adoptive U.S. parents.

Then, it opened with a bang, but ended with a whimper. Facebook stock falls flat in its debut.

And celebs like Jim Kardashian helped Skechers sell millions of sneakers. But the government says those shoes didn't help anyone shape up and ask Skechers to pay up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Giving love to a child in need. It's that desire that drives thousands of people in the U.S. to open their hearts and their homes and to adopt children. It is our focus this morning.

But for one family in Missouri, the love may soon turn to heart break. That's because they may be forced to give up the little girl they adopted in 2008. Her name is Karen, but this woman claims to be the girl's biological mother and calls her Anyeli.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOYDA RODRIGUEZ, CLAIMS DAUGHTER WAS STOLEN (through translator): I had gone shopping and I didn't realize that a woman has been following me, and when I returned, my girls stayed playing in the yard. It was from there she was stolen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: She says she discovered Anyeli on an adoption Web site, three years after she went missing. It was then she started the process of trying to get her daughter back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGUEZ: It has been proven her that she was stolen from me and I never gave her away willingly, much less did I get any money for her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: A court ruled the baby was stolen and ordered the girl's return. At least 10 people charged with human trafficking in the case.

But the Missouri couple -- well, they are not sold on the story. They say they will continue to advocate for the safety and best interests of their legally adopted child. The U.S. government is staying out of it. They say Guatemala had not signed an international treaty on child abductions in time so they have no standing in the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are privacy concerns related to this, there are legal concerns related to this, but beyond that, our view of this is that the appropriate venue for contesting this or cases like this would be in the state courts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Loyda Rodriguez is planning to file a civil suit in Missouri in what may be a final effort to get the girl back. Cases like this cause Guatemala to suspend all adoptions in 2007. Last year, China was the top destination for U.S. families adopting oversees, 2,587 children. After, that Ethiopia, 1,732, then Russia, South Korea and Ukraine.

A monster wild fire growing out West has just tripled in size and firefighters are struggling to control even just a little bit of it. We'll check in with meteorologist Reynolds Wolf to see if relief is in sight any time soon.

And just a quick note for those of you heading out the door. You can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone or if you are heading to work. You can also watch CNN live from your desktop. Just go to c nn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: This morning, we are monitoring wildfires burning in several states out west. One of the biggest fires is in northern Arizona, the so-called Gladiator Fire is so big right now, another city was forced to evacuate. Firefighters barely have any of it under control and burned up to 20 square miles already.

Reynolds is back with us.

So, Reynolds, what's fuelling this?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Unfortunately, what's fueling is you got a lot of basically a lot of brush out there. You've go a lot of pine, you've got a lot of ponderosa pine, that coupled with very dry conditions and yesterday winds from 20 to 30 miles per hour, you had these fires spreading like crazy. And damage has just been incomprehensible.

In fact , take a look at these numbers. And as you mentioned, there are several states that are dealing with them. But from and away, Arizona is really catching the brunt of it. The Sunflower Fires, over 16,000 acres. Contained by 33 percent, 10 percent contained by the Gladiator Fire, that might be the worse one from the time-being, with 13,000 acres contained. And then the Bull Flat, that's about 80 percent, over 2,000 acres.

One of the issues that we're going to be seeing today is that conditions are going to be a little better. What I mean by that is they are going to cool-down a little bit, at the same time, the wind should drop, but it's really going to be crucial for firefighters to really get a handle on these fires this weekend because as we get through Sunday and Monday and Tuesday, we're going to se something else develop over parts of the desert Southwest, an area of low pressure we actually refer to as a heat low, and what that's going to do is really increase the winds by next week.

So you're going to see fires moving through canyons, ravines, where there's a lot of foliage, your still have the ponderosa pine. So, we could the fires really accelerate into next week. They've got to get a good handle on them this weekend, Randi.

KAYE: Reynolds, thank you very much for the update. Check back with you later on.

Witnesses in the Trayvon Martin case paint a conflicting picture of what happened on the night the Florida teenager was killed. I'm going to ask a well-known attorney about the new evidence just released.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: They have never been seen before, and now, new photos of George Zimmerman seem to show signs of a struggle on the night that Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. The Florida state attorney releasing the images.

Now, as you can see, Zimmerman has small cuts on the side of his nose. While another set of photos shows bloody gashes on the back of his head.

And we're also getting a look at what could be Trayvon Martin's last moments before his fateful encounter with Zimmerman, a surveillance video showing the teen at a local convenience store.

Celebrity attorney Randy Kessler here to talk about this case and so many others. But let's start with the Trayvon case.

Good morning to you.

What do you make of this new evidence just released? It was a mountain of evidence.

RANDY KESSLER, CHAIR-ELECT, ABA FAMILY LAW SECTION: Well, you know, it's manna from heaven for a defense lawyer. This is just, you know, the case seem to be going one way. That's why you say there are two sides to every story. And hopefully, the jury is going to see both sides. The defense lawyers are very happy now.

KAYE: Well, let's talk about the pictures, they showed these wounds. George Zimmerman has said certainly that he killed Trayvon Martin in self defense.

So, how important do you think it is to have the pictures at a trial if it gets to that?

KESSLER: I think it's extremely important. You know, if he was a racist and he just wanted to kill somebody, you don't wait until you're getting beat up that badly. If you have an agenda, and you have premeditation and then you're going to go out and shoot somebody, it's not consistent with wounds and a fight and struggle. So, the case got a lot more complicated.

Remember, it's a criminal case. The prosecution has to win beyond a reasonable, not just tipping the scales. This makes it harder to get that beyond a reasonable doubt standard.

KAYE: One of the other bits of evidence that we got in this release of the information, Trayvon Martin's girlfriend who is on the phone with him, says she was on the phone with him at the time that he encountered George Zimmerman she heard him say, "get off, get off." How critical do you think her testimony is?

KESSLER: It's important but she is biased. You don't have much more of a biased witness, you have the victim's mother, the victim's family, the victim's girlfriend, the victim's wife, those witnesses are generally perceived as biased because they feel for the victim.

So, it's important, but she's not an independent walker by who just happened to see something and reported it.

KAYE: There was also obviously the question of who really was yelling for help in this case. I think one sergeant who is on the line during the 911 call heard someone yell for help 14 times in just 38 seconds. But the FBI is saying that the voice analysis is really in conclusive who was yelling for help. What will the jury make of this, do you think?

KESSLER: I think they're going to cancel each other out. There are people on the jury will want to find him guilty, and there are people on the jury that want to find him innocent, and each is going to hear what they want to hear.

You know, just hear that. And you can even really tell that it was saying help. But, for sure, if your own relatives, you know, the only people saying that's him or that's not him, it's going to be hard. I think the evidence is going to wash it out and it's not really going to be a big part of the case.

KAYE: And would that be the same thing, some people say, well, I think it was Trayvon Martin on top during the struggle on the ground and others who say it was George Zimmerman, it's the same thing, right? I mean, how will they know what to do?

KESSLER: A tussle is a tussle, a fight is on fight, people get on top and people get on the bottom. You know, there was a fight.

And I don't think Zimmerman is going to say that I should win the case because he was an aggressor. He's going to say there was a real logistic fight and I ended the fight, I was fearful for my life, and I stood my ground. And that's the defense.

KAYE: So, getting back to that 911 call, there was a question whether or not he made a racial slur, Zimmerman made a racial slur during the 911 call. He was told to not follow Trayvon Martin but he went ahead and did that. Now, his family said he's not a racist, a white Hispanic, but there is a co-worker who came out in this discovery evidence that was released saying not only is he racist but he's bully. This guy is a Middle Eastern guy, and he said he was always taunted by George Zimmerman.

Could this affect the case?

KESSLER: There is a very slim possibility -- if they charge him with a hate crime, if they say there's enough evidence to prove he did this motivated by hate --

KAYE: Which is what prosecutors are trying to do.

KESSLER: They're trying to do. And if it gets to that level then, it will be relevant. If not, it's just a question of what happened. What were the facts? Did he kill him in self-defense or did he have premeditation that he wanted to kill somebody whether it was somebody he was a racist against, or whether somebody else is relevant. He did kill somebody. The question is, did he do it in self defense or not?

KAYE: So, if you were sitting at the defense table with George Zimmerman, how is the case looking for him, would you say?

KESSLER: Looking better than it did a few weeks ago, much, much better.

KAYE: Do you think this evidence helps?

KESSLER: Absolutely. It makes it confusing. There's a lot of reasonable doubt. Remember, all the defense has to do is poke reasonable down in the prosecution's case, and if all 12 people beyond reasonable doubt that he's guilty, then he walks.

KAYE: There's still a question, though -- even as you look at the bruising on his head and nose, you still have to look at whether or not how will they prove those bruises and those cuts are consistent with his head being slammed in the pavement as he said Trayvon Martin did?

KESSLER: Right. Well, that's true. But the truth of the matter is all of America could think maybe he did it or more likely but that's not the standard. The standard isn't that he probably did it. The standard is you have to convince 12 people beyond reasonable doubt that he murdered him. That's going to be a hard standard.

KAYE: All right. Of course, getting back to stand your ground.

Randy, I want you to stick around because I want to continue our discussion on some of these other big legal cases.

We have new details in the search for a man suspected of murdering his new bride. Her body was found in a bathtub. I want to hear what you have to say about this case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It is about half past the hour here. Welcome back. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for starting your day with us.

We're back with best named celebrity attorney Randy Kessler for more on this weekend's big legal cases. We've been talking about the Trayvon Martin case. Now, we want to talk about the John Edwards corruption trial.

RANDY KESSLER, CELEBRITY ATTORNEY: All right.

KAYE: So, there was a lot talk. Obviously, the jury is deliberating now. But a lot of talk about Edwards possibly talking the stand, his mistress, Rielle Hunter, taking the stand, they didn't put either one on the stand.

Good move, bad move?

KESSLER: I think it's a smart move. I mean, John Edwards probably couldn't help himself and gone of and talked about things. He's such a good spokesperson. He's got this gift of gab, he can talk well. He's a great trial lawyer. It had to be hard as could be for him to not say a word, but probably the right choice.

You know, if you catch somebody in a lie, even if it's an unintentional lie, it shoots him. And that's it. So, he didn't get himself a chance to get hung on his own words.

KAYE: Who made the smarter case, prosecution or defense?

KESSLER: I think the prosecution did everything they had to do. Now, it's up to the jury.

The real question is who is on the jury, we don't know everyone's personal biases, but what biases do they bring. They do want to convict somebody because he cheated on his wife and they're so angry that they're going to take that forward and say he's guilty of a committed a crime.

No question he cheated. No question he was a bad husband. Did it rise to the level of the crime? Up to how the people are seeing it those are 12 jurors we don't know everything about then.

KAYE: The key really is, do they believe he knew there were payments being made on his behalf to cover up this mistress.

KESSLER: Right. And people like that in power, they know everything. And, unfortunately, maybe he didn't know what was going on. He's going to be tagged with he must know what was going on. You know, he's a liar, we don't believe him because he cheated on his wife. So, we don't believe him when his defense team says he didn't know about this. He's got problems.

KAYE: So, they just started deliberating yesterday, how long do you think it would take?

KESSLER: I wouldn't be surprised if it goes weeks. It's not going to be a day or two. I mean it's going to take a couple days just to decide who the foreperson is. They'll be extremist on the jury. Somebody actually wants to exonerate. They're going to have to compromise and convince each other of the other verdicts.

KAYE: I want to talk now about a bizarre developing story we talked about it with our viewers this morning. This one is this case now where there is a manhunt for the 30-year-old suburban Chicago husband for the stabbing of his new bride -- she was found dead in the bathtub.

The FBI now tracking his phone use from Illinois to Texas near the Mexican border. He's running to Mexico, Randy. So, is this basically admitting guilt by going on the run?

KESSLER: I think it is. Fleeing the scene, fleeing the crime scene is basically evidence of guilt. I mean, he's got two other strikes. I mean, that's strike one. There's no forced entry in the home.

And so, you know, it was a day after the wedding. There's no question that he's got an uphill battle if he gets caught.

KAYE: One thing we don't know about is a motive, if he was involved. Of course, we don't know that yet. But, I mean, is something you would look at or investigators might be looking out would probably be like, right?

KESSLER: Sure. I mean, after the fact you think you don't get life insurance, and then kill your wife and get to recover the policy. But, you know, people that are crazy like that, or do things like that, they don't think like that. They see something on TV, they'll hear something and they say, you know, I'll sign her up for live insurance, I'll pay the premium and then I kill her and get the proceeds, he might be that kind of person. They should check into that.

KAYE: He apparently told a coworker if officials ask, tell them I'm heading to Mexico.

What are the odds that he's heading completely to the other direction?

KESSLER: Well, you know, how do you gauge someone dumb enough to kill somebody? You know, you either him because he was dumb to tell where he was going, or he's trying to throw him off-track. Either way, he's going to be caught.

KAYE: If he makes it. I know you just said he's going to get caught. But if he makes it to Mexico -- I mean, is he home free or will they be able to bring them back?

KESSLER: I don't Mexico may not be a safe place anyway.

KAYE: That's very true. Depending on where you go, yes.

KESSLER: But they'll be able to extradite him if he gets to Mexico.

KAYE: They can do that.

All right. Randy, nice to see you. Randy Kessler for us -- thank you. KESSLER: Thanks.

KAYE: All right. Grab that cup of coffee. It is time to get you caught up on this morning's headlines.

A blind Chinese activist who asked President Obama and Congress for help is on the way to U.S. Chen Guangcheng, his wife and two children, arrived at the Beijing airport for a flight to New York. Chen hid at the U.S. embassy for several days last month after fleeing house arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Two, one, zero, and lift off -- we've had a cut off. Lift off did not occur.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: A technical glitch scrubs the planned launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral in Florida. A private company was about to make history by launching the rocket to the International Space Station, another attempt could happen Tuesday we're told.

Two 16-year-old girls are dead and several people injured after a bomb exploded outside vocational school in southern Italy. The city's police chief tells CNN that the motive for the attack is under investigation and no one has claimed responsibility.

Alabama's governor says changes to the state's anti-immigration law will make it simpler and clearer. Governor Robert Bentley signed the revised legislation yesterday. But critics say the changes are window dressing and the law still discriminates.

The Justice Department is challenging the law in court as unconstitutional.

The Kennedy family is gathering for Robert Kennedy, Jr.'s estranged wife in Bedford, Massachusetts today. Mary Richardson Kennedy was found dead on Wednesday. The Westchester County medical examiner says that she hanged herself. Mary Kennedy's siblings also plan a private memorial service in New York.

Shipwrecked on a remote island. Three stranded fishermen survived on just seaweed and clams for 10 days. Wait until you find out who came to their rescue.

And Sam, a 6-year-old golden retriever thought he was having fun when he ran away from his owner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sam, look at me. Sam!

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: But Sam got swept away in a very strong, deadly current. Thankfully, a brave fireman jumped in to save Sam. We'll have the video. You don't want to miss that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back everyone. Sometimes we see some great video here on the show and say we have to share that with our viewers.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No doubt.

KAYE: And this is one of those times. So we want to check out some of our favorite stories so far.

How about this, all right? Getting shipwrecked on an island is one of the scariest things, right, for anybody?

Reynolds, if you were stuck on an island, what would be the one thing you would have to take?

WOLF: You know, I would have to take a fly rod. Can't take my fishing rod. Got to. Absolutely.

KAYE: Good. Because you might need to it eat.

WOLF: Most definitely.

KAYE: And, of course, you can probably do pretty well on an island, of course, and you can of course, predict the weather as well, which would help you. But, thankfully, three fishermen from this boat were resourceful when they were stranded for 10 days are after the boat capsized.

They were actually stuck on Banks Island off central British Columbia, and they used the raft for shelter, pretty smart. And guess what they ate, just clams and seaweed.

WOLF: Isn't that what you almost eat when you go eat sushi? Isn't that basically --

KAYE: Yes, probably clean and not out of the ocean. I'm a big fan of seaweed. It's very healthy. It's great for you. I don't know I want to pull it out and eat it.

WOLF: You know, those guys are lucky. I mean, this is a place where they actually did have quite a bit of traffic going by. A sailor went by a guy in his 70s, picked them up, if this happened in the south Pacific or some other place, a bit more remote you never know.

KAYE: Could have turned out not so well.

All right. Here's another one. We really love this. We showed you Sam right before the break. He was rescued this week. Another rescue, but listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it, come on, bud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is his name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, Sam. Come on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Yes, come on, Sam. It's right. The 6-year-old golden retriever ran for his freedom, he ran the wrong way and got swept away in a strong and chilly current. People were shouting to try to get him to come back and stay close.

They followed him downstream -- you're watching it unfold, this is unbelievable. Thankfully, Manchester, New Hampshire firefighters arrived, you see them rappelling down and look at that. Isn't that great, Reynolds?

WOLF: You know, I got to tell you, I feel this way I know you feel the same way. We're both dog lovers, I would have jumped in after the dog. I would have. I mean, standing on the shore line, without question. Scary thing, glad it had a good ending.

KAYE: Never take the dog off the leash. There's a lesson there.

All right. I don't know about you at home, but are you a basketball fan?

WOLF: Indeed, absolutely.

KAYE: If you have been watching playoffs, how do you take it when your favorite team loses? It's pretty tough?

WOLF: It can be tough, very debilitating.

KAYE: All right. Well, watch this -- in Philly this week, fans of the 76ers, to keep their spirits high after a loss. Oh my goodness I'm so sorry, we should have given you a warning. They have no shame, not sure what that is but this is a big belly dance, apparently.

Whoa, OK. I think I have seen enough of that Reynolds has seen enough.

WOLF: Wow. It's going to take a long time when you see something and sticks in your head a long time like a brain worm.

KAYE: I'm scarred by that.

WOLF: That is burned in my irises, in my pupils for life.

KAYE: Well, you know what? It did something, because apparently, the 76ers, they pulled of a big win against Boston last night, tying the series at two games. So the big belly dance had a little something.

WOLF: Is it too early for a martini? Especially after seeing something like that. Goodness gracious.

KAYE: Maybe the guy had one too many, loaf of bread.

WOLF: Side of turkey.

KAYE: Or a whole turkey.

All right. Well, there you go. Aren't you glad we shared that with you at home? I'm sure you are.

All right. Did you do it? Did you buy Facebook stock? The social media giant has made its big debut on the NASDAQ. But just how much do investors like it?

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

BILL MAHER, COMEDIAN/HOST: Facebook went public and you're all billionaires now, right? Did you see that today? Worth $104 billion, Facebook. There has to be a cheaper way to find out if your ex- girlfriend got fat. There really has to be.

JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN/HOST: Facebook is now valued at $104 billion. More than McDonald's, more than Disney, the company whose primary purpose thus far has update you on what your college roommate had for breakfast is worth more than McNuggets and Mickey Mouse. It's unbelievable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The much-anticipated Facebook IPO couldn't pull the stock market out of the week long slide. In fact, Facebook didn't wow investors after an early jump when trading started it finished up 23 cents over the initial $38 price. It still netted Facebook around, well, just $18 billion.

All three major indices notched their worse week of the year. The Dow closed out the week down 3.5 percent.

Time now for something we like to call your political gut check, where we take you beyond the speeches and breakdown what's really going on in politics.

So, let's talk super PACs. They are so powerful and so secretive the even candidates they support are often caught off guard by them, like Mitt Romney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I repudiate that effort. I think it's the wrong course for a PAC or campaign, I hope that our campaigns can respectively be about the future and about issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: Romney is rejecting a super PAC proposal to dredge up President Obama's connection to the controversial Reverend Jeremiah Wright which we heard about in 2008, you may recall. It never got out of the planning stages the media jumped on it anyway.

CNN's political director Mark Preston joining us to talk about this.

So, Mark, this pro-Romney super PAC manages to inject Jeremiah Wright into the new cycle and then claimed that they decided against this attack. Did the media fall in a trap here or what?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: No, I think what happened was, is that this proposal got out, Randi, before the organizers wanted it out and in some ways it actually worked in Mitt Romney's advantage.

And the reason why is that clearly this was the kind of message that was not necessarily going to help Mitt Romney. He has talked about how his campaign is going to focus on how he can turn around the economy. Immediately, he was put on the defensive yesterday, having to answer for a proposal his campaign did not put together.

So while we talk about how effective the super PACs are, and they are, they can provide a lot of money, and a lot of air cover, they also cause some serious problems for campaigns and this is an instance where it could have been a big problem for Romney's campaign, dredging up Jeremiah Wright in the month of September, just right before the election.

KAYE: Yes. No doubt. So are we going to be seeing this a lot? I mean, candidates rejecting plans and attacks by the super PACs that are supporting them. I mean, that sounds like a political mess.

PRESTON: Yes. And we will. This is just the tip of the iceberg, we will se it on both sides. Surely, you're going to see some Democratic super PAC ads that have gone a step too far. You can see the same thing side as well.

You know, super PACs played an important role in the Republican primary helped Newt Gingrich stay in the race, he didn't have money but he had Sheldon Adelson, out in Las Vegas. He is the casino billionaire who funded a super PAC that basically ran Newt Gingrich's for him.

Same thing happened with Rick Santorum, he was able to get some help from his super PAC. And, of course, Mitt Romney had a super PAC helping him.

But here's the problem, though, Randi, and I was talking to one of Newt Gingrich advisor yesterday, at times the Newt Gingrich super PAC would take the campaign off message. For instance, they went in South Carolina, they wanted to talk about guns and religious liberty. The super PAC at the time, which couldn't coordinate with the campaign, wanted to talk about Bain Capital and forced Newt Gingrich to talk about it when he didn't want to.

KAYE: Let's switch gears, two star politicians from New Jersey poking fun at their images, Governor Chris Christie and Cory Booker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR CORY BOOKER (D), NEWARK, NJ: Stand back! I got this, I got this.

Booker. I'm not a number two guy, I'm not background singer. Mitt, sir, with all due respect I know you need a big --

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Excuse me, mayor. I got this.

BOOKER: Christie!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Oh, boy, I know that you're pretty plugged in on this mark, more than the rest of us, explain the joke here, please.

PRESTON: Of course this is a playoff of the Seinfeld episodes where Newman and Kramer each time they would say Kramer or Newman! So, that's what you had with Booker and Christie there.

But this was a video -- a three-minute video shown to the New Jersey press association playing of the fact Cory Booker has done incredible things outside his work as mayor. He did save a woman from a burning building, like went in, tore away from his state trooper detailed and saved a woman that is where we saw the baby. And he does go out and shovel now.

At the same time, you have Chris Christie, who a lot of people think is in the shortlist for Mitt Romney's potential pick to be the vice presidential running mate. You have Booker in there taking the call, always one upping the governor. So it's good to see a Republican and Democrat at least having a little bit of fun even though they might not always agree on the major policy issues.

KAYE: It was pretty funny to watch. Mark Preston, thank you very much. Nice to see you.

PRESTON: Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: Kim Kardashian made these shoes famous but you knew it was too good to be true right? Come on. Shoes that tone your butt and thighs by simply walking around in them? I don't think so. Now the government is making Skechers pay tens of millions of dollars back to its customers so you got to stay to hear what comedian Bill Santiago thinks about all this and so much more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It is not necessarily the contestants but the new judge on NBC's "America's Got Talent" that has people talking, not surprisingly considering that judge is shock jock Howard Stern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what it's all about.

HOWARD STERN, RADIO HOST: Thank you for that. I'm afraid to be myself. Every time I'm myself, I get in trouble. So thank you for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: For this, I have to bring in comedian and "Huffington Post" blogger Bill Santiago.

Bill, good morning to you.

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

KAYE: I'm well thank you. Let's talk about this. Who do you think had their hand closer to the x buzzer? Stern or maybe the FCC?

SANTIAGO: I watched it. I have to tell you I think Howard Stern totally pulled it off. He was another person like family friendly raunchy, you know? And I think he wants to take this family friendly thing all the way.

I think he wants to be like the next Mr. Rogers, you know, which is going to be a switch. He's going to be like -- imagine him taking off his shoes instead of asking his guests to take off their clothes.

KAYE: And putting on his sweater right?

SANTIAGO: Yes, yes. I think they'll see some very surprising things in the future. Total new phase.

KAYE: Yes, I think so. He was kind of fatherly actually. But speaking of celebrity judges, "Forbes" magazine just named "American Idol's" Jennifer Lopez as the most powerful celebrity in the world, beating out Oprah.

I mean, I don't know about you, but what exactly do you have to do to claim that top spot?

SANTIAGO: She's at the top of the pinnacle. I think all she had to do was stop referring to herself as Jenny from the block. I think that was sort of a mental thing for her. Once she got over that and embraced, allowed herself to be Jenny the power hungry diva who can get any song on the radio no matter how bad it is, that really freed her up to not go for a ride -- you know, last year, Lady Gaga was at the top and she did it by wearing a meat dress and tweeting that to all her followers.

I think Oprah could take a lesson. She's one meat tweet away from getting back on top.

KAYE: Oh, my goodness. I just don't see Oprah in a meat dress.

SANTIAGO: She doesn't like beef. She went on the air once and gotten into a lot of trouble for saying she would never eat hamburger again.

But, Oprah, you don't have to eat it. Just wear the dress. It's going to be worth it.

KAYE: All right. Let's talk about another pretty powerful celebrity. Kim Kardashian number seven on the list apparently. I know you remember her. Her Skechers shape up commercial.

SANTIAGO: Yes. She's on my mind all the time.

KAYE: But for anyone who needs a refresher let's just play a little bit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM KARDASHIAN, CELEBRITY: Stand straight. Bye-bye, trainer. Hello shapeups.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Yes. Hello, shapeups. Good-bye shapeups right? It turns out the FTC did not like the ad and finding those shoes won't automatically give you the famous Kardashian back side, apparently.

So, now, Bill, Skechers has agreed to pay out like $40 million in refunds. What do you think? I mean, is this fair?

SANTIAGO: I have to tell you, personally I have a pair of these shoes and they work for me.

KAYE: No.

SANTIAGO: Yes. You just have to know how to use them. I use them in conjunction with a pogo stick. It is very aerobic. The benefits are amazing. I'm ready for the beach.

KAYE: I don't think that is how they're meant to be used. OK.

SANTIAGO: A lot of people fell for it. I mean, the name of that company is Skechers. They're making a very sketchy claim, it's practically calling out if you are dumb enough to fall for it, you don't deserve your money back.

These people are so gullible. They'll just give it to the first Nigerian banker who sends an e-mail. Not customer protection. It's protecting people from learning a lesson.

KAYE: I just don't get it. I mean, why would a company go out do that and say, yes, this is going to work for you. It's going to give you that Kardashian back side?

SANTIAGO: Well, look. These are very -- it is a class action suit. What is the class of people we're talking about? People sedentary people who believe that you can do nothing and get that body they're looking for.

They're preying on the idiots. There's lot of -- P.T. Barnum said there is a sucker born every moment and I think he woefully under estimated the rate. KAYE: You bought them so I'll leave it at that.

SANTIAGO: You should see me. That's fantastic.

KAYE: I'm sure. All right. Bill, nice to see you -- Bill Santiago.

SANTIAGO: Nice to see you. See you again. Bye-bye.

KAYE: All right. Well, thanks for starting your morning with us. We have much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, which continues right after this.

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