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CNN Saturday Morning News
Texas Officials Crack Down on Threats; North Korea Loads Missiles on Launchers; Dismal Jobs Report; Florida's Sinkholes; "Final Four" Madness
Aired April 06, 2013 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. It's 7:00 am on the East Coast, 4:00 am out west. Glad you're with us this morning.
We begin this morning with an updated in the unsolved murders of two Texas attorneys. This week, when somebody called in a bomb threat during a memorial service for district attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, whoever made that threat hasn't been found, but police arrested this man, Robert Miller, and charged him with making a terrorist threat online against the deputy district attorney.
Another man Nick Morales also faces charges. He is accused of threatening a county official, but the police say the two suspects are not tied to the killings.
CNN's Martin Savidge joins us now from Kaufman, Texas.
Martin, how do these threats relate to the case?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, good morning, Miguel. They don't relate in a direct sense. In other words, they don't believe that these two men have anything to do with the murders that have taken place down here.
However, what does it show? It shows authorities are not taking crap when it comes to somebody making a threat to law enforcement or some sort of public official down here, because in both cases, these men have been charged with a very serious offense. That is one count of terroristic threat.
On top of that, they are being held now $1 million bond.
So, it shows you that authorities here are not going to put up with any kind of either threat or foolishness in this regard. You talked about the bomb threat that was made. This was on Thursday, during the visitation for the McLelland family. I mean, this is -- it is only unimaginable that somebody could go to such depths of lowness.
So, authorities here are simply putting out these messages that nothing like this is going to be tolerated, and if they find you and they're still looking for that person, that case, they're going to come down on you like a ton of bricks, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: It makes sense there, Marty.
We are hearing more speculation about the murder of Mike McLelland and his wife. Some people think they may have known the killer?
SAVIDGE: Yes. I mean, there's a lot of speculation. And this investigation is going in a number of different directions, all at the same time. We've talked about the Aryan Brotherhood that could be involved, the white supremacist group we've talked about. Maybe it was somebody that knew them.
And then they talked about the fact that it could be possibly a drug cartel. These are all avenues of investigation. But the key point here is, how did the killer get into the home of McLelland and his wife Cynthia? How did they get in there?
Apparently, according to witnesses, there was no sign of a break in into that home. So, what does that suggest? It suggests that someone came to the door, perhaps it was someone they knew, felt comfortable opening the door, or some kind of ruse or disguise that this person may have used to gain entry into the home.
What's interesting about is that, then you hearken back to the murder in Colorado, that's Tom Clements, who is the head of the prison there, how is he murdered? Somebody came to the door pushing as a pizza delivery person. We already know that the prime suspect in that case was a member of a white supremacist group. So, you can listen to all of this and begin to draw a conclusion.
But right now, authorities are not saying anything officially, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Marty, thank you very much.
Now, an update to the killing in Colorado. Police have arrested this man, James Lohr. They want to question him about the March shooting death of Colorado prison chief Tom Clements. Authorities are also looking for a gun allegedly thrown from his vehicle as he fled.
Lohr is described as an associate of Evan Ebel. He's suspected of killing Clements at his home just weeks expected after getting paroled. Ebel later died in a shooting with police.
The store that Bushmaster rifle used to kill 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School can longer sell guns. An ATF official told CNN that Riverview Gun Sales lost its federal firearms license on December 20th, that was just six days after a Newtown massacre. A police detective speculated gun sales at the store were dropped due to poor record keeping.
Adam Lanza's mother bought the Bushmaster rifle there two years later. This past week, Connecticut passed a law banning the sale of high capacity magazines like the one Lanza used at Sandy Hook.
A hepatitis scare in a New York City after a West Village restaurant worker tested positive for the disease. The city's health department says anyone who had dessert between March 23rd and April 2nd should get tested for hepatitis A as a precautionary measure. Workers at the restaurant should be doing the same. Patrons appear to be shaking up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every single employee, including in the front of the house and back of the house will be attending to get a shot no later than Monday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm shocked. I love this place. I come here all the time. It's great service, great food. I recommend it to a lot of people. I am surprised.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: An Ohio family was cold and wet but happy to be rescued after 24 miserable hours in the Florida Everglades. The Schrecks spent the night in the air boat after it became stuck in a cypress tree. Rescuers say the camouflage both made it harder to spot. The father Scott Schreck says everything was great until it wasn't.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT SCHRECK, RESCUED FROM EVERGLADES: Took a wrong turn, had a great fishing trip. The boys had fun. Wife was having fun. It came to the end to the one canal and took a right and couldn't get the boat turned around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: A state official says it was a good thing Schreck was used to the outdoors. He built his family shelter on the boat to protect them from the rain.
To North Korea now, there are increasing signs that the country may be making good on its threats against the U.S. and South Korea. A U.S. official says two medium range missiles have been loaded on to mobile launchers in the country's east coast and are ready to go. North Korea is also warning it won't protect foreign diplomats if war breaks out.
CNN international anchor Jim Clancy is watching developments unfold from South Korea.
Jim, what is the reaction in South Korea and with visitors to North Korea?
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, you know, here in South Korea, people are used to this kind of high stakes rhetoric. It happens every year when there's a U.S./South Korean joint military maneuvers here on the Peninsula, the North Korea do not like that.
At the same time, we don't know much about what is going on in North Korea. How are they reacting to all of this? Well, one of the only ways that we learn information like this is from people who visit, and there are tour groups that go in, a lot of them are based in Beijing and from there, travelers can visit North Korea. It's a little pricey. You have to pay the North Koreans for the right to get in there.
But one of the tour group operators, or leaders, talked with us a little bit earlier and told us what she saw, and we asked her, was anything out of the ordinary? Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA CARR, TOUR GUIDE: I didn't feel any different towards us, and people smiling and waving, saying hello, it's usually in English, and kids coming up and rollerblading, and coming up from square, and coming up and saying hello. So, there's no different in that respect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Now, they visited bowling alleys. They went to some of the public parks. They went to bars and things like that. She said she did see some soldiers but they were planting trees. It's the spring planting season after all in North Korea and elsewhere across the Korean Peninsula. So, there it seems all normal, but remember, that's inside Pyongyang, which is isolated from the outside of the country. There's a huge gap between Pyongyang and the country site, and that gap, that economic gap is growing larger -- Miguel.
MARQUEZ: So, not surprising that a highly scripted tour like that would see, not see anything out of ordinary. But I mean, what is your sense of it, Jim? You have dealt with it for a long time. Do you think this is about internal politics, and Kim Jong Un trying to wrestle things internally or it is about a true threat externally?
CLANCY: Well, you know, Kim Jong Un is a new leader. Obviously, he's taken things further than his father or his grandfather. I mean, threats of a nuclear strike against the U.S. main land. He doesn't have a capability to do that, but the fact that he would say that means he is climbing way out on the limb and the question is, can he back down?
We know he can forward and he can swing at us with all this fiery rhetoric. But, you know, in the eyes of his own people, in the eyes of the region, we have yet to see whether he is capable of backing down gracefully, letting things cool off, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Yes, the U.S. has to back up South Korea, obviously. There's also 29,000 U.S. troops here. What kind of response are we seeing out of Washington to Seoul?
CLANCY: Well, I think that right now, you're seeing, they are relying on deterrence. They know these joint military maneuvers are the best defense against anything and everything that North Korea has to throw at them. They don't expect North Korea to make any frontal assault on the troops, on the South here.
What they really expect are provocations. Provocations such as this -- we expect a missile launch, test one of the new medium range missiles. Now, that missile poses a threat if it were used in the military sense. But they're going to be watching that very closely. They have spy ships, the U.S. does, and the South Koreans. They want to monitor it closely.
Miguel, this isn't a well-tested missile. Nobody really knows what its range is. Nobody really knows what its accuracy is, and that's what they want to know -- Miguel. MARQUEZ: Jim Clancy, thank you very much staying on it for all of us.
Back here at home, the FBI has its eye on former CIA director David Petraeus. "USA Today" reports that agents from the bureau interviewed Petraeus outside of his home outside Washington yesterday. They are looking to whether he may have passed classified material to his mistress, Paula Broadwell.
Last month in a speech, Petraeus apologized for the hurt caused by his affair.
The March jobs report turned out to be dismal and disappointing. Just 88,000 people got jobs last month. That's nearly 100,000 fewer people than most analysts had expected. The employment rate ticked down a notch to 7.6 percent. But much of that decline was because nearly half a million people just stopped looking for jobs.
We've got much more ahead this hour. Here's a look at what's coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ (voice-over): How much are you paying for prescription drugs? It could be a lot more than your friends. We'll tell you why some pharmacies are charging you hundreds of dollars more than their competitors and who the worst offenders are.
More sinkholes threatening Florida neighborhoods. So, how close are some communities to vanishing altogether? A look inside sinkhole alley.
JEREMY IRONS: Living with another animal, whether it's a husband or a dog, it's great.
MARQUEZ: Academy Award winning actor says he does not have strong feelings about same-sex marriage, but this interview is raising eyebrows or drawing risky parallels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT BARCHI, PRESIDENT, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: I apologize to any student athletes on the team who may have been personally harmed. The kind of chronic and pervasively abusive behavior demonstrated on that video is unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: What's unacceptable for a lot of people is how long it took Rutgers to fire basketball coach, Mike Rice. That's after a video was made public showing him abusing players, the school has been playing full court defense ever since.
Pamela Brown has been following this week's fast-moving developments -- Pamela.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been a week of fallout on the Rutgers University campus, after a video was released to the public on Tuesday, showing head basketball coach Mike Rice apparently abusing his players. Since then, Mike Rice was fired the following day, less than 24 hours after that video was released. On the heels of that, the assistant basketball coach, Jimmy Martelli, resigned.
And then we learned that the athletic director, Tim Pernetti handed his resignation letter over to the president of the university. In that letter, he said, I always tried my best to do what is right. I had spent a great deal of time reflecting on the events which led to today. As you know, my first instincts when I saw the videotape of Coach Rice's behavior was to fire him immediately."
He went to say, "Following the review of independent investigative report, the consensus was that university policy would not justify dismissal."
The president of the university, Dr. Robert Barchi, held a press conference. He said that he supports Pernetti's decision to resign and he also called Pernetti a standup guy. When asked about whether he would resign, he said that that decision is up to the board of governors.
Here's what we had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARCHI: I consider resigning every single day when I wake up, because let's be honest, I don't have a contract here. My contract says what I can do, but it also says that every day, I serve at the discretion of the board. There is no term to my contract.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And Dr. Barchi said that when the video was first brought to the university officials, that he did not ask to see the video, he said that's a decision that he regrets and that he saw it for the first time on Tuesday. Now, even though he says that he will not step down, he is still facing growing pressure from the LBGT community, asking for him to resign, and also from faculty members. More than 50 faculty members have sent a letter to the board of governors, calling for Dr. Barchi's resignation.
Pamela Brown, CNN, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Thank you for that, Pamela.
Pro-football may be reaching a landmark moment. One of the sport's most outspoken advocate for gay rights, the former Baltimore Ravens linebacker, Brandon Ayanbadejo, says as many as four gay players are considering coming out publicly on the same day. He spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper just one day after he was cut from the Ravens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON AYANBADEJO, NFL PLAYER: There's organizations that I'm in contact with and there's individuals that I'm in contact with and, collectively, we know of some gay players.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: OK.
AYANBADEJO: And these players -- some of them are anonymous. Some of them, we know who they are, but their identity is super secret, and nobody wants to reveal who they are, and some, they don't want to reveal who they are, rightfully so, because it's entirely up to them what they are going to do.
What we want to facilitate is getting them altogether so they can lean on each other. So, they can have a support group, potentially, it's possible, it's fathomable that they could possibly do something together and break a story together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now, right now, there are no openly gay players in the ranks of pro-football, basketball or baseball.
Still ahead this morning, you could be getting ripped on your prescriptions and not even know it. Find out which pharmacies you might want to avoid.
But Target says we're sorry after some offended shoppers complained. We'll tell you why, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: In business news now, the days of taking that awkward family photo at the mall maybe coming to an end. Portrait studios at Sears and some Walmart stores are shutting their doors. After the company managed them, went out of business, CPI Corporation says it's closing more than 3,000 locations in North America but plans to fill orders of those who recently had a studio session.
Luxury plug-in carmaker, Fisker Automotive, is announcing some major layoffs. The southern California company says it's letting go about 75 percent of its workforce after it failed to make a deal with an automotive partner. Some employees were told of the layoffs on Friday. Management expects about 40 members of its staff to stay.
And Target taking some heat over the name of a color for one of its plus-size dresses. You are looking at the dress now. The dress on the top is called Heather Gray, and the plus size version below is called Manatee Gray, like the large sea mammal. Needless to say, some women offended. Target apologized, saying it was an oversize as the colors are changed for the season. If you pay out of pocket for your prescriptions each month, listen, you could be using hundreds of bucks because of where you get your meds. "Consumer Report" magazines recently sent secret shoppers to pharmacies to compare prices and what they found -- well, it just might shock you, especially if you shop at CVS.
The survey says CVS is the most expensive. Costco consumers, you can breathe easy, you are getting the best deal. The study focused on the generic forms of five blockbuster drugs, Lipitor, Lexapro, Plavix, Actos and Singulair. At CVS, the cost for generic Lipitor is 150 bucks a month, at Costco, just $15.
And how about for Plavix at CVS? That will set you back 180 bucks. At Costco, just $15.
Joining us now to talk about the survey, "Consumer Reports" editor, Lisa Gill. Lisa, thanks for being here.
LISA GILL, EDITOR, CONSUMER REPORTS: Thank you for having me.
MARQUEZ: First off, why this huge discrepancy in price? It doesn't seem to make any sense.
GILL: Well, I have to say, we have been doing the secret shopper survey for a number of years and this was the most -- really the most surprising results we have ever seen. Those price differences do feel like at least two different things. Stores use their pharmacies in different ways.
Some stores like Rite Aid and CVS, they are meant to generate a lot of revenue and a lot of profit for the stores and that's fine. So, you can see it reflect in high prices.
Stores like Costco, Walmart, Sam's Club, they really try to bring in traffic through having lower prices in the hopes that people will buy maybe other things.
And the other difference too is that CVS and Rite Aid are so convenient, and you really pay for that convenience. Those pharmacies are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, they are on every corner in the us practically. Whereas, with a store like Costco, even though you pay such lower prices, you will have to really plan your visits, pharmacies close at 8:00 or 8:30 at night, and they're not open on Sundays. So you can see the difference there.
Now, according to your survey, the three most expensive pharmacies are CVS and Rite Aid, and Target. The cheapest were FamilyMeds.com, HealthWarehouse.com, Costco.
We reached out to some of those pharmacies for comment, and CVS told us the following.
Quote, "Pricing surveys do not accurately reflect what most pharmacy customers pay for prescriptions and are not effective in accurately comparing prices. A random price check of only five drugs is too far to draw meaningful conclusions about with which pharmacies offer the best value overall for its customer."
Do you agree? Is your survey an accurate representation of market prices across the board?
GILL: You know, we had -- we made over 200 phone calls to pharmacies all around the United States. We called independent mom and pop pharmacies. We called large, big box stores like Sam's Club and Costco. We called Target, Walmart, Walgreen's, CVS, Rite Aid, posing as just a regular consumer, sort of like what my grandmother might face in Indiana, just calling around to local pharmacies trying to get a price on some very popular medications.
So, and actually that's why we chose those medications is because millions of people take these drugs every month and in many cases can't afford them.
So, one of the things we were surprised to find out, and, you know, CVS has an interesting point, except that when we called nearly a dozen CVS's around the country, they quoted a price of $149.99. And only one pharmacist mentioned to us that you might be able to get a discount if you come into the store.
So, considering a regular consumer trying to, you know, compare prices over the telephone, find such incredible price differences, I think it's very notable thing, and I think it's worth considering when you are shopping for medications.
MARQUEZ: Very quickly. What are the best tips for viewers out there for buying meds?
GILL: You know, I kind of believe it and it sounds really old school advice. But the truth is, many of our shoppers, actually nearly all of our shoppers were not offered also the lowest possible price.
So, the tip is, you have to ask for the lowest price. You actually have to -- both in person and on the television, say, is this the best price you can offer me? And very often they will come back to you with discounts the store offers or other possible discounts or even drugs alternatives.
So, asking really seems to be the key, and this is also surprising find in making so many calls around the United States.
MARQUEZ: All right.
GILL: The second thing -- also, be sure, you can ask for other discounts. There are a lot of these $4-a-month, $10-a-month discount generic drug programs. And many of the stores, actually all of the national chain stores offer them, but people don't really take advantage of them. So, ask if your drug is on one of the discounts as well.
MARQUEZ: All right. Thanks very much. To check out the survey for yourself, head to consumerreports.org.
Lisa Gill, thank you very much for your time. GILL: Thank you.
MARQUEZ: Just weeks after a sinkhole swallowed a Florida man as he slept, nearby, another home is being threatened by a huge sinkhole. How big is it? We'll have that, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Mortgage rates reaching historic lows this week. Have a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Miguel Marquez, in for Victor Blackwell.
Here are our five stories we are watching this morning:
The White House says it would not be surprised if North Korea does launch a missile, as string of newly released images coming out of North Korea show drone attack drills and missiles firing. It's not clear if the weapons are genuine, but the U.S. official says two missiles have been loaded on the launchers on the country's east coast.
Number two, police in Texas are trying to find the person who called in a bomb threat at the memorial service for the district attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia. The McLellands were shot to death last Saturday, almost two months after a county prosecutor was also killed. A reward of up to $200,000 is being offered for information.
And third, another surge for same-sex marriage among U.S. elected officials. Senate Democrats Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota now support overturning a federal law banning marriages between same sex couples. The announcements leave the final four among Democrats, of Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana are the only names not backing same-sex marriage rights.
Number four, a hepatitis scare in New York City after a West Village restaurant worker tested positive for the disease. The city's health department says anyone who had dessert at Alta in the last week should be tested as hepatitis A as a precautionary measure. The restaurants pastry chef contracted the disease while on a recent trip to Mexico.
And, finally, NASA has plans in the works to capture a small asteroid and bring it closer to Earth. And that's according to a NASA mission overviewed by CBS News. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida said the goal is to combine the sig mining and deflecting them.
Remember that nightmare story out of Western Florida where a sinkhole opened beneath a man's bedroom was while he was in bed, his body was never found, and the house was recently torn down, giving us a new look at the deadly disaster. And what's even scarier, is the 20-foot wide hole, is, in fact, thousands of sinkholes open up every year in Florida alone. Here's video of yet another sinkhole growing right now under another family's home. It's two feet wide in 2011 now it's threatening to swallow their bedroom. And in an effort to buy more time, they're sleeping in another room these days, sensibly.
ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Why (ph)?
MARQUEZ: Yes, (INAUDIBLE).
Now, Alexandra Steele is here to explain sinkholes to us, a scary stuff. First off, how do they form? How do these things --
STEELE: All right. Here's the science behind the sinkhole. OK? Really, there is one culprit. It's the limestone or dolostone, that's the type of rock. You see grass, you see soil and then you see rock. And that rock is very porous. And that rock is soluble, and that rock with water can move.
So, here's the deal. Rain falls down, and that rain water becomes acidic, and that acidic water eats away at the limestone. Think of a sponge and, you know, all those little holes, the porous nature of the sponge, all those little holes get bigger and bigger and bigger and then that cannot support the weight of the home above it and thus the sinkhole.
So, here's a look at a sinkhole. Those pictures are kind of hard to see, but here's kind of a clear one. This is Florida, this is June, and you can see how it developed.
The making of a sinkhole, where are they common? Florida, of course. A lot of places in the Southeast. Why? Because they have limestone or dolostone, that soluble rock.
So, Florida, Texas, really the farthest north as Pennsylvania, and Tennessee and Alabama. And, you know, believe it or not, it's really not as uncommon as you think.
MARQUEZ: Wow.
STEELE: Here's in Florida. In Florida, it's obviously the number one state, and there's a place called Sinkhole Alley, of course, right? And it's in central Florida, around Tampa and within the four-year period, Miguel.
Between 2006 and 2010, there are over 24,000 insurance claims because of sinkholes. So it's certainly not that uncommon there, and this is really where the balance of them happened.
MARQUEZ: I had no idea there was sinkhole insurance.
STEELE: Yes.
MARQUEZ: It takes a long time I take it for each one to form?
STEELE: Oh, it does, and some are big and some are small, but really the culprit is this very porous rock that's under there and it's soluble. So, something soluble, of course, you throw in all this water, and then it kind of dissolves and disintegrates. So, inevitably, it will happen.
MARQUEZ: The weather, the sinkholes -- Alexandra Steele, you do it. Thank you very much.
STEELE: Sure.
MARQUEZ: Oscar winner Jeremy Irons is bringing incest in the same-sex marriage debates. You will hear his bizarre comments, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Welcome back. We're in the E block now, and that means it's time for entertainment news, get it?
We'll begin with the British actor Jeremy Irons. He made some peculiar comments about same sex marriage to the Huffington Post this week. He questioned whether it would open the door for fathers and sons to marry. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY IRONS, ACTOR: Could a father not marry his son?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there are laws against incest.
IRONS: It's not incest between men. Incest is to protect us from having inbreeding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now, Irons did say he did not have feelings either way about same-sex marriage, but I have a feeling the radio personality Kendra G and comedian Dean Obeidallah has something to say.
Kendra, let me start with you. What's your take on this?
KENDRA GILLIAMS, RADIO PERSONALITY: You know, I first read about it when I saw it, and I was like, oh, he was inebriated during the interview. But he was quite serious, and you can tell he's actually put thought into this.
This is insane. No, of course a father cannot marry their son in order to take the benefits. He was talking about the tax benefits that the civil union gets, and also marriage gets when they are together. But he is crazy. Do not agree at all, at all.
MARQUEZ: Dean, crazy, yes?
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, COMEDIAN: I think that Jeremy Irons probably doesn't understand the concept of marriage equality if he thinks that's what people are fighting for, some parents can marry their children.
This is my advice to Jeremy Irons, before he go on TV and talk about politics, run your ideas passed people and see if they go, like, you're crazy. Don't say some of the crazy stuff. So, I agree with Kendra, completely. I think a little off, but I must say, he says it like a Shakespearean actor, so it's kind of impressive on that level. Very Hamlet-esque.
MARQUEZ: No, no, you always got to love his voice. I mean, that's the beauty of Jeremy Irons, right?
Now, he also made this comment towards the end of the interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IRONS: Living with another animal, whether it be a husband or a dog, it's great. You know, it's lovely to have somebody to love. I don't think sex matters at all, and what it's called I don't think matters at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: All right, Dean, that's the sound of my chin hitting the floor. What can you say about that?
OBEIDALLAH: You know what? I think some of the women I lived with, they viewed me as a animal on some level. So perhaps there's a connection to that.
MARQUEZ: I've heard.
OBEIDALLAH: Come on. Jeremy, again, what I said earlier, run these ideas past people before your career is over for being a crazy person. He is in danger of being the British Nick Nolte. So you got to watch what you're doing.
GILLIAMS: But which we all be inspired, because if he can win an Oscar, that means we can do anything. I'm going to win CNN. I mean, listen to this guy. But this guy is out of limit.
(CROSSTALK)
MARQUEZ: Let's move on.
OBEIDALLAH: I hope he does run.
MARQUEZ: All right. Yes, well, we'll be able bowing down.
Let's move on though, it's official. Jimmy Fallon is taking over for Jay Leno, worst keep secret in showbiz.
Dean, are you surprised?
OBEIDALLAH: I'm shocked. It's a horrible mistake. They should have picked me. I am clearly available. I'm clearly available. I am up at 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday. How available could I be?
You know what? I'm not shocked at all. I worked at "Saturday Night Live." For many years, I worked with Jimmy, one of the most talented and nicest people I have met. I think he'll play not only to the city's but the heartland of America. And you know what? Jay Leno's ratings for younger demographic have gone down. Jimmy Kimmel right on his heels and NBC had to something.
MARQUEZ: Dean, I don't mean to diss you. But, Kendra, I'm with you on this one. Whatever I'm going to say, I'm with you.
GILLIAMS: I am agreeing. I think that he would do an excellent job.
I'm not mad that Jimmy got the actual job, and it's time for a young and fresh face. And I'm excited for it. Plus, Leno has enough money to be happy and he can enjoy his life now.
MARQUEZ: Let's talk about Michelle Obama. Listen to what she said during a local TV interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: Believe me, as a busy single mother -- or I shouldn't say single, as a busy mother. Sometimes, you know, when you got the husband who is president, it can feel a little single, but he is there. But as a busy working mom and before coming to the White House, I was in that position, you know, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Oh, oh, my. Single mother. Slip of the tongue, Kendra?
GILLIAMS: No, this is appropriate. She should feel that way. I hope the president is not home every Thursday night for hamburger helper. He should be running the country as he's doing.
So, it makes all the sense, be a part-time dad, run the nation, then in three years, when you can retire, you'd be a full time dad, and a full time dad again.
MARQUEZ: Really?
GILLIAMS: Yes.
MARQUEZ: Kendra G, Dean Obeidallah, thank you very much.
OBEIDALLAH: Thanks.
GILLIAMS: Thank you.
MARQUEZ: The Final Four kicks off in Atlanta this weekend right next door to right here at CNN, and we are headed live to the arena for more on college basketball's biggest games of the year.
And what do cracker jacks and hot dogs, what do they have in common with buying sushi and tofu noodles? Hint, you can get both by finding a diamond, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Well, today is the day. Millions will watch two big Final Four games tonight, which tip-off right next to us here in Atlanta.
Carlos Diaz joins me now from outside the Georgia Dome.
So, all eyes on Louisville and Kevin Ware, who's so, oh my God, so brutally broke his leg in last weekend's qualifying game -- Carlos.
CARLOS DIAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know -- hold on. I can smell it. I can smell basketball. It's here. Finally, the Final Four.
Today is the day! It's a great day for basketball. You mentioned Kevin Ware. His face will be everywhere tonight at the Georgia Dome, even though he is not playing, of course, after that leg injury that he suffered on Sunday. He'll be on the bench. And his face will be everywhere because Amare Stoudemire from the New York Knicks has donated 10,000 big heads that you'll see fans wearing around the court all night long.
And, of course, if you missed anything with Kevin Ware, we've got your Kevin Ware mash-up. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN WARE, CARDINALS PLAYER: My first instinct was like I can't start crying. I look down in my leg, I see my sneaker on, but my leg is like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He kept chanting, "Just win the game. Just win the game." We did it for him.
WARE: I saw the pictures of them putting the trophy by my side and me sleeping with it. And I was very proud.
REPORTER: How are you feeling Kevin?
WARE: Good. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks for all the support. Thank you so much.
WARE: My injury or not, I still want to win a national championship. The president picked us to lose to Indiana, but when I speak to him in the White House, I will forgive him.
DAVID LETTERMAN, COMEDIAN: The number one thought going through Kevin Ware's mind at the moment of the broken leg --
WARE: At least my bracket's not busted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAZ: So, of course, Louisville, the sentimental favorite here in Atlanta with Kevin Ware and that amazing story. And the big at night, you got Michigan taking on Syracuse, Jim Boeheim, against John Beilein. You got to get that right for your party tonight, OK?
You got Jim Boeheim, who's got the second most wins in college basketball history, taking on John Beilein who's making his first appearance in Final Four. But Joe Beilein, the coach of Michigan says, he has to thank Jim Boeheim getting him in to coaching in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BEILEIN, COACH: He really assisted me in getting my first Division 1 job at Canisius, and then to get to the Big Easy, also assisted in getting from Richmond to West Virginia. And all those steps were necessary to be here right now. So, I'm indebted to him but I won't be doing -- we won't be doing him any favors on Saturday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAZ: Now, that's going to be the game tonight, Michigan taking on Syracuse, you got Syracuse very tough defense, a two-three zone that basically locks it down underneath taking on Michigan, a bunch of high fliers who have been scoring like crazy. They got Trey Burke, the national player of the year. This is going to be an amazing matchup between two 30-win teams, two number four seeds.
It's going to be a great game tonight. I can't wait. Can you tell I'm excited about this?
MARQUEZ: I can sense bust a little bit of excitement. I'm going to try that thing did you earlier with the breath.
DIAZ: That's why you're anchor right, because you can sense these things.
MARQUEZ: I can smell it from here. I can smell your excitement from here.
DIAZ: OK, I'm very excited about this big show today at 3:00. It is "All Access" with Rachel Nichols at the Final Four. You don't want to miss this.
Rachel Nichols has got everything you want to know about the Final Four. She goes behind the scenes, got all of the tears after the game, after the losses, she's got all of the cheers after the wins, she's got all of the pregame speeches before the game. It is "All Access" with Rachel Nichols 3:00 Eastern Time, right here on CNN. I need some more coffee.
(LAUGHTER)
MARQUEZ: Carlos, my sense is that's an all access pass. Fantastic, thank you very much. Hang in there.
DIAZ: No problem.
MARQUEZ: Check out this fan at Wednesday's Mariners/A's game in Oakland. A wicked slicing ball coming at him and he casually snags it in one hand while preserving every single drop of precious beer. That's a fan who has his priorities in order, clearly, as you can see celebrating his catch in the most appropriate way imaginable.
And with that beer, a good ball park hotdog would go down nicely but food at baseball parks has come a long way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KID: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's chocolate all over this ball.
KID: Look, Mr. Buttermaker quick bugging me about my food. People are always bugging me about it. My shrink says that's why I'm so fat so you're not doing me any good, just quit it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now, certainly a much longer way than in the days of the "Bad News Bears" -- real dogs, brats, real burgers and real beer. But here's the thing, ball parks aren't just about beer and brats. Think instead roast pork and cheese Kurds, tofu. I don't know about the tofu.
Ball parks around the country are going gourmet, take for instance, Safeco Field, the great northwest home to the Seattle Mariners, check this out.
Alexandra is here to tell us about it.
Alexandra, what can you get there?
STEELE: All right. How about shellfish, po' boys, fish is huge there, pulled pork sandwiches, spicy jalapeno slaw and even slice brisket with some apple jalapeno slaw and whiskey cola barbecue. What do you think?
MARQUEZ: It doesn't sound so bad, does it?
STEELE: No, the East Coast in on the action as well, and, of course, New York City is in play. Yankee Stadium will not be undone. Leave it to the Yankees to do it big.
So, how about an actual meat carving station right inside the stadium, some of the selections there, garlic fries, fried pickles, tofu baskets my favorite and even real Italian.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GRECO, MIKE'S DELI OF ARTHUR AVENUE: We brought our paninis and (INAUDIBLE) Parmigiano and we made fried zeppoles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEELE: All right. What's a fried zeppoles? All right. Of course, so you know, friend dough, and for simply six 2,000 calories.
MARQUEZ: Nothing beats fried dough.
STEELE: That's right. But it's loaded with, you know, bad stuff.
MARQUEZ: What? No, everyone is like a celery stick I'm very sure.
Not to turn this into an East Coast/West Coast thing but I have to go to the West Coast, so we can brag a little about California, where I'm from. More specifically, AT&T Park in San Francisco, home to the Giants, all kinds of food here especially chowder and crab, their crab sandwich is renowned.
You know what would go well with that? A big basket of garlic fries.
STEELE: Grease?
MARQUEZ: Grease on it.
Top it off with the most San Fran's famous Ghirardelli chocolate and a nice big sundae.
STEELE: All right. Forget it. Wait. Chocolate may rule out west, but let's go to the home of ketchup, believe it or not, and to a ballpark loaded with flavor, PNC Park, home to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and to go with their home town ketchup, burgers and these are some big ones. How about a sir loin brisket chuck mix or pork sausage soaked in lime, tequila and topped with cilantro, coleslaw. Oh my!
MARQUEZ: That sounds pretty good.
STEELE: How about some -- people are waking up going really?
MARQUEZ: I've been up for hours, so that sounds perfect for us right now.
STEELE: Right. We're ready for dinner.
MARQUEZ: We have our lunch settled. Perfect.
This boat was swept away from Japan's tsunami and came ashore in Washington. But scientists are shocked what it carried 5,000 miles across the ocean. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Now, some videos that you've just got to see.
A boat that washed ashore at Washington state is Noah's ark of marine life. Officials say the boat traveled 5,000 miles from Japan after the tsunami nearly two years ago. The boat's hull became a home for tropical fish native to Japan. Officials say five fish and other animals survived because the boat acted like a tide pool. Scientists are going to study the creatures.
Hundreds of stranded sea lions are turning up all over the California coastline, even behind the wheel of a car. This cute little guy was spotted on a road in San Diego this week. A driver thought it was a dog and opened the door and the pup popped right into the front seat. A rescue crew from SeaWorld came to take him away. He'll be nursed back to health before released back into the wild.
And if that wasn't cute enough, check out Ronan, the dancing sea lion. The university of California-Santa Cruz provided this evidence. Ronan may be the first nonhuman mammal to keep a beat. Scientists spent time in a lab with Ronan teaching her to bob her head to music but surprised everyone with her rhythm while dancing to a song she had never heard before.
We've got much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING which starts right now.
