words of the week. >> of the week. return to something we talked about in our first hour. while i am no rick santorum fan, i think he's been treated unfairly in this english language puerto rico issue. i think he's being portrayed as culturally insensitive and possibly racist and that is not the argument he's making. his opinion is shared by 80% of the americans. >> i think it's unfair with six seconds left and raise the word racist. >> end point. >> we'll bring it back monday. first of all, have a nice weekend, everybody. we'll see you back monday morning. morning. from a great st. patrick's day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com happy st. patrick's day. have a great weekend. good morning, everyone. i'm carol costello. stories we're watching in the newsroom. this morning, new questions from the attorney representing the u.s. soldier accused of slaughtering afghan civilians.

john henry brown says he wants to know why his client was deployed on a fourth tour of combat after being diagnosed with brain trauma. a march madness match-up turns ugly after members of the southern miss pep band are caught on camera yelling an offensive chant at kansas state's angel rodriguez. >> he's trying to draw the charge. rodriguez has already let the ball go. he's a freshman but he's cool as they come. >> they have issued a formal apology from kansas state for the band's behavior. a rare march tornado was caught on camera in dexter, michigan. >> oh, my god. oh, my god, oh, my god. >> oh, my god is right. the twister touched down about 5:30 yesterday damaging or destroying more than 100 homes. luckily, no one was injured or killed. people are lined up at apple stores this morning. you know what that means. a new gadget that apple lovers must have right now.

this time it's apple's latest ipad. let's go in depth now. a hint of a motive this morning for the american army sergeant accused of killing 16 civilians in afghanistan. "the new york times" quotes an unnamed official who says alcohol, stress, and marital problems led to the shootings that night. the official say he snapped. it's something the soldier's attorney disputes. that attorney is john henry brown. he joins us live from seattle. welcome, mr. brown. >> thank you. glad to be here. >> well, the article in "the new york times" characterizes your client as someone who drank that night with two other soldiers, was under heavy stress because he just witnessed a fellow soldier get his leg blown off, and he had marital problems and that's why he went on this terrible shooting rampage. what do you say? >> well, i know for a fact that the earth marital problems issue is totally bogus, and i'm not -- i'm a little concerned as to why that's being floated out there

by the government. the other part is, you know, anyone who's in afghanistan right now, particularly someone who's been in iraq three times previously and been injured, would obviously be under a great deal of stress. so stress is always a factor. i know for a fact that there is no issue with his marriage. it's a very strong marriage and, frankly, we're all taking offense at that. now whether there was alcohol involved or not i simply don't know. i haven't spoken to my client about that. >> have you spoken to him at all? i understand you had a short phone conversation. how did that go? how did he sound? >> he sounded distant and kind of like a deer in the headlight but okay. i conveyed his family's love for him. i told him i did not want to speak to him about specifics of the case because i don't trust the phone not being monitored. i can tell you that i just learned that he is now on his way to ft. levenworth, kansas, and i was to have a phone conversation with him this morning at 6:00 a.m. seattle

time, but he's in transit to ft. levenworth right now. >> do you know if he'll be tried in military court or some other kind of court? >> he will be tried in military court. i mean, there's a possibility he could be tried in federal civilian court, but that's remote. >> when you talked with him on the phone, did it appear that he knew what he had done? >> no. first of all, i'm not sure what he's done either. i'm a defense lawyer so i don't really make comments about my client's involvement in a case until i know more facts. certainly there's a lot of allegations. this is a very serious matter and certainly understand why the afghan people and muslims in general would be upset about it, but i don't know what the facts are. he seemed to be unaware of some of the facts that i talked to him about, which makes me concerned about his state of mind obviously.

>> do you think, you know, some people think that if he did these things he couldn't possibly have acted alone. do you suspect somebody else may have been involved? >> i don't have any information on that one way or the other. >> you talked before about him suffering head trauma and yet he was deployed yet again to afghanistan. just your initial thoughts about how that might affect your case -- his case. >> well, there's been a big problem with soldiers who have been previously deployed to both iraq and afghanistan with concussive head injuries and post traumatic stress disorder. i know there's been a lot of controversy about this particular base in washington not treating those illnesses. we do know he had a concussive head injury. we also know he was injured in his leg severely and i am

somewhat confused as to why they would send him back to afghanistan. he was told he was not going to go and then overnight he was told he was going to go and as a good soldier he did what he was told. >> so from what i understand his injury, he was injured in a roadside bombing and part of his foot had to be amputated? >> those were two separate incidents but that's correct. >> and then what happened shortly before this incident in afghanistan took place? >> i don't know. what i've heard from the military lawyers who are working on this case with me who i'm very impressed with, that another soldier at this base was brutally attacked the day before this incident and actually had his leg shot off right in front of my client. >> and this incident apparently affected the entire base, right? is that what you heard? >> that -- that's correct. i've been told that by the

military. i don't have any independent knowledge of that. >> just in listening to you, it seems as if you're sort of thinking about putting the entire war on trial and how maybe the military treats its soldiers. am i being fair? >> i think it's a real question. you know, i'm old enough to remember the massacre in vietnam and how that hastened the end of that war. maybe a tragic incident such as this will get people to leave quick the war in general i i certainly don't want to put the war on trial, but i think that people should start thinking more about why we're there and how long we're going to stay there. >> it does sound as if you're going to put the war on trial though. >> we'll see. >> tell us something about this man that we don't know because we have this image of him going door to door and killing

children allegedly. tell us something that we don't know about this man. >> well, he's a very strong family man. he has two young children. he's a devoted father. he's a career military individual. he has never said anything racist or hostile towards muslims or afghanis so this whole thing is obviously a great surprise to his family. >> and why did you decide to take his case? >> well, they asked me to. he actually apparently asked for me and his family contacted me and i had some reservations about it simply because i'm busy and i have some concerns about security for everybody involved in this case, but i am a defense lawyer. this is what i do for a living, and i am being paid to do this. i certainly have great empathy for the family and for everyone

involved in this so i figured it's something i shouldn't turn down. >> john henry browne, thank you so much for agreeing to go live with us. we appreciate it. >> you're welcome. you should see why people shouldn't move to seattle? >> because it's dark, raining, and cold? >> it's miserable. >> it will be beautiful in atlanta. you have to come down. >> i'd love to. i'm jealous. >> thank you, mr. brownhe, we appreciate it. >> here's some more information on mr. browne. he has tried more than 250 criminal cases. among them, ted bundy, the in famous serial killer from the 1970s. last year he defended the barefoot bandit. browne unsuccessfully argued that he suffered from post traumatic stress from a rough childhood. >> there are also worries today that anger over the massacre in afghanistan could spark a terror

attack here in the united states. a new security bulletin says the fbi and the department of homeland security are concerned that this could contribute to the radical lieization or extremists in the homeland particularly against u.s. based targets. in the next hour i'll talk to fran townsend. she was president george w. bush's homeland security advisor and is a member of the homeland security department's external advisory board. terror caught on camera in michigan. this rare march tornado touched down in dexter around 5:30 yesterday afternoon. that's eastern time. there were no deaths or injuries reported and that truly is amazing. but many residents say they're still in shock. >> started yelling in the back door, and they responded but they wouldn't come out so we climbed in the window and they were standing in the stairwell and he wanted to go upstairs but there was no upstairs left. >> there's neighbor's house that is have chairs in the windows. i mean, you know, find a place

to sleep tonight. find the next thing tomorrow. >> the tornado destroyed or damaged at least 100 homes. dexter is located about ten miles west of ann arbor michigan. later this hour we'll talk with meteorologist rob marciano about the tornado and today's risk for severe weather. the president is not impressed with republicans sniping on gas prices as you might expect. now he's getting a little snarky. >> do not tell me that we're not drilling. we're drilling all over this country. >> we're going to drill past the political chatter and find out what we can really do about gas prices and about more drilling. that's after a break. also, a university president tries to smooth things over after his school band's racist chant at the ncaa turny last night. >> you see mills trying to come over and trying to draw the charge. rodriguez has already let the ball go. he's a freshman but he's about as cool as they zblom but the

apology she issued may have actually made things worse. made with only milk... apology she issued may have actually made things worse. me.z the apology she issued may have actually made things worse. zblod may have actually made things worse. >> but the apology she is may have actually made things worse.

we have a bit of breaking news to bring you. a rifle has been found outside of a residence hall at the rochester institute of technology. that's in rochester, new york. we expect the residence halls to go on lockdown. it was found lying there.

we do know no shots are fired. that's what authorities are telling us there. if you have somebody, a student, a child going to the rochester institute of technology, please note this. there was a rifle found outside the residence hall. no shots fired but police are investigating. when we get more information on this of course we'll pass it along to you. let's head back to seattle now. and check in with casey wian. he's been working the story on this u.s. soldier accused of these terrible after began shootings. casey, i wanted to find out a little bit more about how the family led to this famous attorney that they've hired to represent this soldier. >> reporter: well, carol, the family has been in this area for a while and he's a very high profile attorney. he represented the barefoot bandit and has had some other high profile cases over the years and so they contacted him. they wanted him right away is what he says. what's interesting and what we can report now, according to the attorney, john henry browne,

he's telling me that the family remains at the base where this soldier was stationed, the joint base lewis mcchord near tacoma. there had been some reporting that the family had been moved off of the base for protective reasons, but the attorney telling me that the immediate family, his wife and two children, remains on the base. also, carol, as he said, very important development. his client is now who remains unnamed, no one is releasing his name at this point, is now en route to ft. levenworth, kansas. he had been in detention in kuwait after being moved out of afghanistan a couple of days ago. there are reports that the kuwaitys were not happy that this suspect adduccused of kill 16 afghan citizens was on their soil. he's expected to arrive there late this afternoon according to the attorney, john henry browne.

he does not where a trial will take place. he does not know when formal charges will be filed, but it seems unlikely that a trial will be held anywhere but in the united states. they would have to take him back to perhaps a middle eastern country. the attorney ruling out any trial in afghanistan. carol in. >> the attorney also said it would be in military court, which isn't so easy for a traditional criminal attorney to prosecute a case, but he is working with military attorneys as well, is that right? >> reporter: that's right. he described the cooperation with the jag attorney that was representing the suspect from the very beginning as very good. he says he's very cooperative. mr. browne says he has experience with military cases and has a high degree of confidence in the military's ability to give this suspect a fair trial. what he does worry about though is the political implications of this case and how that could affect the defense, carol. >> casey wian, live for us in seattle this morning.

thank you. the president isn't so impressed with republicans sniping on gas prices. now he's getting a little snarky. >> do not tell me that we're not drilling. we're drilling all over this country. >> okay. we're going to drill past the political chatter and find out what we can really do about gas prices. that's just ahead. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro. yes, you could. whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

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gas prices up anotherpenny to $3.83 a gallon. while you continue to feel the pain, our political leaders continue to play the blame game. if you caught the president's energy speech in maryland, it was dripping with sarcasm. >> we've seen this movie before. gas prices went up around this time last year. gas prices shot up in the spring and summer of 2008. i remember, i was running for president at the time. this has been going on for years

now. and every time prices start to go up, especially in an election year, politicians dust off their three-point plans for $2 gas. >> republicans though say there is one thing we can do to lower gas prices for good. drill on land here at home. the president says, we're already doing that. we wanted to take the politics out of this with the help of den ton lagrana senior editor at opus. they track gas prices. welcome. >> thank you. >> you have a tall order today. you have to take the politics out of this issue. so the only thing no one has suggested, remember the gas tax holiday. that was a big deal during the election of 2008. strip the taxes from the price of gas for a time and lower the price. why not resurrect that? >> it probably wouldn't be such a bad idea. it would obviously take, you know, in some places even at least 18 cents off the federal

tax. states obviously have their own tax structure, particularly, for example, new jersey we actually pay taxes for just about everything else, probably to breathe even, so our gasoline taxes are a little bit lower than some other states, particularly new york, pennsylvania, that's why you see people come over the border to get gasoline in new jersey. >> the big problem with that, of course, is the taxes that are taked on to gas pay for things like road repair, bridge repair. >> correct. exactly. demand is great right now. >> exactly. so republicans charge oil production on federal land has dropped 7% since 2009. they wonder why the president won't allow more drilling on land the government owns, and before you answer that, here's what mr. obama had to say about that. >> do not tell me that we're not drilling. we're drilling all over this country.

i mean, i guess there are a few spots where we're not drilling. we're not drilling on the national mall. we're not drilling at your house. i guess we could try to have like, you know, 200 oil rigs in the middle of the chesapeake bay. >> no. >> well, that's the question. we are drilling at a record pace, but we're doing so in a way that protects the health and safety and the natural resources of the american people. [ applause ] >> okay. so newt gingrich would say, right, president algae. so from you, dent ton, i want to know the truth. are we drilling at a record pace or not? >> we are. actually, the u.s. is pro

tuesdaying about roughly 6 million barrels of oil a day, but it's coming from the unconventional spots, the shale oil plate for example. not drilling so much in the gulf of mexico because, well, in 2010 there was a giant hole in the bottom of it. so actually that's one of the places where drilling is pretty stagnant, but other places, like i said before, the unconventional shale oil plates and things like that is where a lot of new oil is coming from. >> doesn't that mean the republicans are right then because that's state land and private land, it's not federal land? >> right, it is state and private land. yeah, it's a a lil bit of a double-edged sword. with politicians they're going to twist their words to make themselves sound right every time. >> the other factor people don't like factor into all of this, we do have a problem turning oil into gas because our refineries aren't the best. tell us about that. >> that's actually not exactly true. our refineries are pretty sophisticated.

a lot of companies have invested capital earlier this decade to -- around 2002 to invest -- to be able to run more sour grades of crude oil and get more yield, more diesel, more gasoline, more yet fuel, etc. one of the things we are watching is oil prices at some of the refiners on the coast, east coast, west coast, they're paying for their oil. you'll watch other news networks that have oil prices on there, you'll see 105, 106, $107 a barrel. that's the wti price. that's what the future's trade is. these guys on the coast are paying closer to 100, 120, $125 a barrel because their water that's on the water is crude. wti -- >> you're getting into -- >> i'm getting a little too technical here. i apologize. so what you see on tv is not necessarily what these refineries are paying. so a lot of times, particularly

on the east coast, we've seen a couple refineries already close. then a big refinery in philadelphia is slated to close on july 1st because they're having trouble, margins, with making gasoline. >> that's what i was trying to get at. if you don't have the refineries to turn the oil into gas, the price is going to go up, too, or enough refineries. >> denton, thank you so much for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. senator john mccain's daughter meghan is making a splash on the pages of "playboy." she has an opinion of one of sarah palin's daughters. it ain't pretty. we'll have that story next.

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checking our top stories now. no relief at the pump. the archl cost of a gallon of gas rose a penny. it now stands at $3.83 a gallon.

just last week it was nearly seven cents cheaper. riding oil prices are largely to blame. they surged 10% over the last month. senator john mccain's daughter is blasting bristol palin. sarah palin's daughter lied when she claimed mccain carried around tons of designer luggage on the campaign trail and had hair and makeup people follow them around constantly. mccain also reveals personal information about herself saying she almost overdosed on xanax the day before the election in 2008. american airlines flight attendant whose video's poked fun at the carrier's financial trouble has lost his job. nbc miami said a 24-year-old veteran was fired and he's fighting that firing. one of his online videos characters, the aluminum lady, is like margaret thatcher, the iron lady. >> those people on the ramp creep me out.

>> your regional manager, who's the weakest link. >> well, i'll tell you right now, the woman that's running the flight attendants down in miami is probably the most ineffective person i have in the whole country. >> can you fire her? >> no, don't fire her. i like it like that. >> american airlines filed for bankruptcy a few months ago and plans to cut 13,000 jobs. an american spokesman didn't mention the videos when talking about the firing but told nbc miami that david published the private details of american airlines passengers and promoted his competitors on his website. we now have new details about the american soldier accused of massacring 16 afghan civilians. his attorney says his client will arrive at ft. levenworth military prison in kansas later today. john henry browne says the solder was stressed after witnessing a comrade getting wounded the day before the alleged shootings. earlier this hour i talked with that washington state attorney who's now representing the accused soldier, mr. browne

describes his initial conversation with his client. >> he sounded distant and kind of like a deer in the headlights but okay. i conveyed his family's love for him. i told him i did not want to speak to him about specifics of the case because i don't trust the phone not being monitored. i can tell you that i just learned that he is now on his way to ft. levenworth, kansas, and i was to have a phone conversation with him this morning at 6:00 a.m. seattle time but he's in transit to ft. levenworth right now. this morning there are new concerns, too, the massacre in afghanistan could trigger violence here in the united states. in the next hour i'm talk to cnn national security contributor, fran townsend. she was george w. bush's homeland security advisor and she's part of the external advisory board for homeland security. let's talk basketball now. march madness is supposed to be competitive in a spirited, fun way. it didn't play out that way at the ncaa tournament in

pittsburgh as kansas state's angel rodriguez made a series of free throws, the crowd chanted, where's your green card. >> you see mills trying to come over and draw the charge. rodriguez has already let the ball go. he's a freshman. >> you hear it in the background there? those chance came from members of the southern miss's pep band. the president has issued an apology for the pep band. buzz joins me now from philadelphia. good morning. >> good morning. >> okay. so the ncaa tournament is about brackets, betting, but it also shines the national spotlight on individual universities. what does this say about southern miss? >> well, what it says is terrible. i mean, it sounds like it was an isolated group of individuals, but it doesn't really matter. you could hear it on television. saying to a player, where's your green card, where's your green card, is absolutely offensive.

it's racial stereotyping. it's racist. it implies that the kid is there illegally, and there's just absolutely no business for it, but yet it's another in the now million and one litany of problems with college sports. all of this junk about camaraderie, team work, pep bands, spirit is a joke. >> oh, come on. some of it's real, isn't it? >> not much of it's real. not much of it. i just read a story yesterday in "the new york times" about how most of these students in the major sports of basketball and football do about 15 to 25% worse than other stew dments academics. they consider themselves athletes primarily first and students second. they're always taking the easiest courses to get through. they're not students. they're hired guns and they should be paid and universities have to bite the bullet. this thing is out of control. >> this doesn't come from the players. this came from the pep band. >> well, i agree.

it's from the pep band, but it's an atmosphere of college sports that i think has gotten out of control. i agree that these kids are beyond ignorant. those were clearly racist comments, but i think it goes to this overall mentality, as you say, ncaa march madness, betting, you know, a little team from nowhere like vcu coming out of nowhere to get close, that's what it's supposed to be about. it's not supposed to be about a group of idiots from mississippi yelling green card, green card. it's isolating, yes, but i think it goes to the larger symptomatic problem that college sports, like most sports, frankly, is rotten. >> you know what made matters worse is the university president, she apologized, but she spelled the player's name wrong. it's probably the name wrong. they spelled rodriguez with a q instead of a g. >> that's like smith for god's

sake. >> it's a racial stereotyping unto itself with a q? she should be fired too. >> well, it was probably her pr department, we don't know, but maybe she'll apologize for the a ploel gi. >> it probably was the pr department. that just is sloppy as well. the kid's trying to play a basketball dame for god's sake. let him play the game out. let it be about winning, losing, making last shots and not having -- it looked to me like one player heard it and was upset. just let them play the game without this garbage. >> well, i'd have to agree with that. buzz, thank you so much for joining this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. russell brand out on bail after being arrested last night. we'll tell you what he allegedly did next. en a dust in the air. i get congested. my eyes itch. i have to banish you to the garden. but now, with zyrtec-d®,

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russell brand out on bail after getting arrested last night in new orleans. cnn's "showbiz tonight" correspondent nischelle turner gives us the dirt. >> carol, it's been a tough couple months for russell brand, right? cnn can now confirm that brand was arrested for allegedly grabbing a photographer's cell phone and throwing it through the window of a new orleans law firm. now norms police say they arrested brand thursday. they charged him with criminal damage to property. he was only in jail a short time before paying bail and being released. this all began on monday night in new orleans where brand's in town shooting a movie. a photographer filed a police report claiming that russell got mad at him for taking pictures on his iphone and told police brand took the phone and hurled it through the window of a law

office. now a photographer got the phone back and russell did agree to pay for the window. that didn't satisfy the cops or the prosecutors. a warrant was issued for russell's arrest. meantime, the comedian was still joking about the incident on twitter. on wednesday he tweeted since steve jobs died, i cannot bear to see anyone use an iphone irrev remember vently. what i did was a tribute to his memory. all right, carol? >> he could have hurt someone. you don't throw something. >> exactly. exactly. >> okay. whatever. rihanna is revealing more details about her collaboration with her ex, chris brown. >> yeah. >> a lot of people were upset that she even decided to speak to chris brown so what more is she saying about this? >> yeah. lots of people have opinions on this one because people were seeming in shock over this. now recently former flames rihanna and chris brown released two remixing each containing vocals of the other despite their controversial history including that rather high profile incident of domestic

violence. however, rihanna doesn't see what all the fuss is about. the pop star told ryan seacrest that brown just happened to be the right man for the job. she said she reached out to him about doing a remix to the song "birthday cake" because that's the only person that made sense to her to do the record. she added, quote, she thought of brown as just a musician despite everything else. she went on to say the hottest r&b artist is chris brown so she wanted him on the track. brown wanted rihanna on the remix of one of his songs, "turn up the music." there shouldn't be a divide because in her words, music is innocent. >> it's just business, i guess, right? >> just business. that's right. >> a lot of people are hoping it's just business. nischelle turner. >> yeah, exactly. >> nischelle turner, thank you. we have new details about the "american idol" contestant kicked off the show for lying. nischelle will be back with that and other showbiz headlines in

the "cnn newsroom." a twister caught on tape just minutes before ripping apart a michigan neighbor hid. we're book with details on whether we can expect more of this this weekend. nach artichok, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. a living, breathing intelligence

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checking stories cross k kuntry. in dexter, michigan, a tornado caught on camera.

incredibly, no one was killed or injured. more than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed. in santa cruz, they're trying to protect the beach board walk from a swollen river. crews are moving sand up against a retaining wall to try to protect the iconic structure from any more damage. let's bring in meteorologist rob marciano. that tornado in michigan was unusual. was it brought about by these incredibly warm temperatures we're experiencing? >> certainly didn't help the fact. the front that's moved through the area, take a look at the fresh video. the national weather ser havice going out there to determine what it was. probably f-2 storm. it was f-3 storm, meaning winds 120 degrees or higher, that would be the earliest a storm has hit. you'll see the damage as they go house to house. we have that powerful storm that's moving into the pacific northwest again today.

so the storms you saw through california, more energy, more wind, more rain, more mountain snow coming in for those folks. we had three reports of tornadoes across michigan. that is rare. one more nugget in this unprecedented season. weak front. the temperatures, heat, humidity out ahead of that front was enough to make the severe weather happen. most of the severe weather was hail while the air is still cold up aloft but still very warm across the parts of the surface. 76 degrees the expected high temperature in chicago. that is 30 degrees above average. we will remain above average according to the climate prediction center not only for the rest of this week but for the next three months. this is the outlook for spring or the remainder of it and into the first month of summer, above average temperatures for a good chunk of the u.s. get used to it. carol? >> thank you very much, rob. we knew moammar gadhafi's sons were living large. hanibal gadhafi had a swanky

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libya's uprising didn't just end moammar gadhafi's regime and his life, it also ended grand plans for one of his sons. hannibal gadhafi put in the order for a fancy cruise ship complete with a huge shark tank. let's talk to cnn's zain verjee. it makes you wonder what else he was planning to do with that tank, though. >> yeah, totally. i mean, you know, he decided he needed to get this cruise ship, carol, because the problem was for him and it was a major one,

he just couldn't get a cruise ship on short notice. so what do you do? you get your own cruise ship and while it would be nice to have six sharks in a tank, you know. you're a dictator's son, so why not? he commissioned a shark tank and there were four biologists that were supposed to be on there, it was supposed to be a cruise liner for about 3,500 guests. according to the "financial times" it was going to be like a floating palace with things like marble columns and gold mirrors as well as these shark tanks, e but now it's a passenger liner after the regime collapsed. >> and they're going to use the shark tank too so, yay. let's talk about the pope and this perfume. >> yes, i don't know, what do you think it should be called? ode to pope or just pontiff? what do you think? essence of his holiness? >> pon-sniff? >> exactly.

so a lot of people are wondering about this cologne for the pope. but basically he's decided he wants his own cologne. so he's gone to the same person who has designed perfumes for people like madonna and sting and king juan carlos of spain. and it's supposed to have the nature theme. the one making it says it's going to be based on his love of nature, going to smell like lime and grass. and the only thing is the pope gets it, nobody else. one other interesting fact is -- >> it won't be at macy's or anything? >> no, just him. and the interesting thing is, carol, i found out that when before he was a pope, he was the theological adviser to the archbishop of cologne. it's a city, which is a city in germany. we can look forward to his cologne.

>> okay, zain, thank you so much for the puns this morning. we needed them. >> i do too. auto sales are up, jobs in the industry are up, but is manufacturing really on the road to recovery? we'll break down the numbers for you. showing how deep a hole we've really been in. that's in the next hour. [ female announcer ] introducing coffee-mate natural bliss.

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how about some march madness now. vcu was a cinderella team last season, so last night's result may not be a shocker. bradford burgess knocks down a three, yeah with a minute and a half to go. wichita state cannot answer, the 12th seeded rams beat the fifth seeded we talked about the top five upsets yesterday. vcu advances to play indiana. syracuse leading unc asheville by three with 35 seconds left. syracuse's inbound pass goes, but the ref gives the ball to the orange. syracuse holds on to win, the orange avoiding becoming the first number one team to fall to a six-team seed. harvard back in the tournament for the first time since 1946, taking on the harvard of the south, vanderbilt. the s.e.c. champions too much for the crimson, but vandy sank

free throws to win. 79-70, they move on to win wisconsin. number two seed, ohio state against 15th seeded loyola of maryland. eric etherly, you're going to see him make a monster dunk here. it was such a monster dunk that a crew had to come out and fix the net afterwards. that was the biggest highlight for the greyhounds, though, ohio state moves on to play gonzaga. that's a look at your march madness highlights. but in honor of march madness, we have a video you have to see. it's an insane basketball shot made from a helicopter. here's cnn's jeannie moos. >> reporter: most basketball players are tall, but sinking one from this height is ridiculous. now, we've seen basketball trick shots from a ferris wheel and a trampoline. but a trio of michigan guys. >> hey, scott, can you pick up

some basketballs? >> yep. >> reporter: took the basketball trip to new heights and shot the swish from three angles. of course the question everyone wants answered is how many tries did it take? let's crunch the numbers. how many basketballs did you actually take up in the chopper? >> we took about 25 up in the chopper with us. >> scott erickson said they made dozens and dozens of trips dropping around 25 balls each time. freeze it. you can actually see the ones that missed scattered all over the place. one, two, three, four -- >> reporter: they finally nailed this one from 192 feet, which is not the highest shot ever made. guinness says this one is 212 feet 5 inches. an australian trick shooting group called how ridiculous got a basket from atop a lighting

tower over a cricket field after more than 2 1/2 hours of trying. so the michigan guys aren't highest, but they think it's still pretty cool. their last viral video hit was almost a year ago. ♪ bye, bye miss american pie >> reporter: it was a rendition of "american pie" which required much of grand rapids, michigan to be closed down as they did one continuous take. as thousands of extras lip synced, they used a chopper for the last shot ofis one too. they're dedicating their latest video to march madness. >> from the altitude we were shooting at, the terminal velocity of the ball was around 100 miles per hour. >> reporter: which could be terminal to living creatures. did you guys hit any cows? >> no cows were harmed in the filming of this video. >> reporter: but they say they did hit a few cow patties. talk about an american pie.

>> did we clean the ball off? i think we just let scott keep using them. >> reporter: somebody should've called afoul. jeannie moos, cnn, new york. and good morning to you, i'm carol costello, stories we're watching in the newsroom right now. the "new york times" quotes an unnamed official who says alcohol, stress, and marital problems led to the massacre in afghanistan. that official went on to say that the accused u.s. soldier just snapped. the soldier's attorney, however, says that claim is bogus and too many reckless rumors are floating around about his client. i talked with him in the last hour and he gave us a hint of a possible defense strategy for his client. >> we do know he had a concussion, he was injured in his leg severely. and i am somewhat confused as to why they would send him back to afghanistan. he was told he was not going to

go, and overnight he was told he was going to go. and as a good soldier, he did what he was told. >> we'll hear more in just a moment. terror caught on camera in michigan. this rare march tornado touched down in dexter yesterday. no deaths or injuries. the tornado edit destroy or damage at least 100 homes, though. dexter is located about 10 miles west of ann arbor, michigan. this morning we have a lot more information about the soldier who allegedly carried out the house-to-house shooting rampage. and learned the soldier is heading to the united states. he'll be imprisoned in kansas as he awaits charges. i spoke with the attorney who wants to know his client was deployed on a fourth tour of combat after being diagnosed with brain trauma. >> well, there's been a big problem with soldiers who have been previously deployed to both iraq and afghanistan with

concussive head injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. there's been a lot of controversy about this particular base in washington not treating those illnesses. we do know he had a concussive head injury, and we also know he was injured in his leg severely and i am somewhat confused as to why they would send him back to afghanistan. he was told he was not going to go and then overnight he was told he was going to go and as a good soldier, he did what he was told. >> so from what i understand, his injury, he was injured in a roadside bombing and part of his foot had to be amputated? >> those were two separate incidents, but that's correct. >> and what happened shortly before this incident in afghanistan took place? >> i don't know. what i've heard from the military lawyers who are working on this case with me, who i'm very impressed with that another soldier at this base was

brutally attacked the day before this incident. and actually had his leg shot off right in front of my client. >> and this incident, apparently, affected the entire base, right? is that what you heard? >> that's correct. i've been told that by the military. i don't have any independent knowledge of that. >> just in listening to you, it seems as if you're sort of thinking about putting the entire war on trial and how maybe the military treats its soldiers. am i being fair? >> i think it's a real question. you know, i'm old enough to remember the vietnam massacre in vietnam and how that hastened the end of that war. maybe a tragic incident such as this will get people to rethink the war in general. i certainly don't want to put the war on trial. but i think that people should start thinking more about why

we're there and how long we're going to stay there. >> it does sound as if you're going to put the war on trial, though. >> we'll see. >> tell us something about this man that we don't know. because we have this image of him going door-to-door and killing children, allegedly, tell us something that we don't know about this man. >> well, he's a very strong family man. he has two young children, he's a devoted father, he's a career military individual. he has never said anything racist or hostile towards muslims or afghanis. so this whole thing is obviously a great surprise to his family. >> attorney john henry brown, let's go back to seattle for a second. casey wian, you've been working this story all week. casey, how did the family come

to choose mr. brown as their attorney? >> reporter: carol, he's a well-known seattle-area defense attorney. some of his clients include the barefoot bandit and several years ago, the serial killer ted bundy. so the family knew him, knew his reputation, and asked him if he would join the defense in this case. also have some new information to report. we can confirm that john henry brown has now added to his team a forensic psychiatrist locally here by the name of dr. richard adler in case that testimony is needed down the road in a trial. they'll be looking at, of course, the traumatic brain injury that this soldier received and also separately any possible issues of post traumatic stress disorder. that's definitely, seems to be where the attorney is leaning at this point in terms of a potential defense for this case, carol. >> mr. brown, services probably don't come cheap. who's paying him? is he doing this case pro bono?

>> no, he's not. the family has agreed to pay him. we don't know what his fee is, but we do know that forensic psychiatrist according to his website, we checked that this morning, he charges $400 an hour, if his services are needed, it'll definitely not come cheap, carol. >> reporting live from seattle, thank you. on the heels of the attacks in afghanistan, homeland security and the fbi sent out a security bulletin warning there could be retaliatory violence in the united states. says the fbi and the department of homeland security are concerned this event could contribute to the radicalization or mobilization of home grown violent extremists in the homeland, particularly against u.s.-based targets. i want to ask fran townsend about this. she's a member of the department of homeland security, external advisory board and former homeland adviser to george w. bush. thanks for being here, fran. >> good morning, carol. >> what do you read into this

bulletin? >> you know, carol, we have seen attacks that are targeted against u.s. military bases. there was one in ft. dix, new jersey, and the recruiting base in little rock. and so we've seen violent extremists inside the u.s. target the u.s. military and their bases. so it's understandable that there would be these concerns. what we don't know yet from officials and we're working our sources is whether or not this particular threat bulletin was based on specific intelligence. they may not have had sort of intelligence telling you what base, but it's possible it could have been prompted by intelligence gathered post the attack that tragedy in afghanistan. >> so should we all be concerned? i mean, we understand about threats to military facilities throughout the country. but should we all be concerned about these threats? >> well, it's interesting, we saw after the attack in afghanistan by the u.s. soldier, the taliban threatened retaliation inside the country. we know that preachers,

extremist preaches used to use these incidents to recruit, to put out a violent message and call to action. that's frankly how he got the ft. hood shooter to undertake his action. and so, and i remember back to my time in the white house, abu ghraib was used -- it wasn't u.s. policy, it was a violation of law which people were prosecuted, but extremist preachers and terrorists use that as an opportunity to incite people to violence. so i think they're right to be worried about this. and because we've seen plots against u.s. military bases, i think that's why you saw the more focused threat bulletin. >> fran, thanks for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thanks, carol. have you heard about the other march madness happening right now? nothing to do with basketball. the very latest ipad went on sale this morning. and a lot of apple fans must have it right now. we'll have more on that story coming up. and controversial calls at the ncaa tournament, a 16 seed

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today it's all about the ipads. apple has unleashed version three of its tablet. our silicon valley correspondent dan simon is live in san francisco. so, dan, how long did you camp out? >> reporter: well, fortunately we haven't been here all that long. but good morning, carol, from a cold and dreary san francisco. it's been raining all morning, but that's not keeping the folks away. you can see the people in line here in front of this store on chestnut street in san francisco. we're going to go ahead and go to the front of the line and talk to the folks about why they've been waiting here for so long. we should tell you that, you know, apple does its best to create a party-like atmosphere. they've been giving these folks coffee and bagels throughout the morning. and these are the people at the front of the line. they have their own tent here. hey, guys, good morning. >> good morning. >> what are your names? >> nate. >> jacqueline. >> nate, what time did you get

here this morning? >> 10:00 p.m. last night. >> reporter: what drives you to spend, you know, so much time waiting in line? >> i really want the ipad, plus i work at a store that sells gadgets down at pier 39, so we're getting them to have them in the store, sell the cases and stuff to go with them. >> reporter: and what's it been like being here since 10:00 last night, guys? >> cold and wet. >> reporter: and what are you looking forward to in terms of getting this device? >> i don't know. >> he's never had one. >> reporter: well, carol, we should tell you about the selling points of the new feature. it's got a -- it's got a better screen than the previous version, they call this the retina screen. and it's got a better camera. so people obviously excited to get their hands on this new device. this store opens up at 8:00 local time, and, you know, we've got some crowds here. but really in new york city, there was a line wrapped around

the corner for the flagship store is. we'll be seeing lines like this throughout the country throughout the weekend. >> i'm still laughing about julio. how did they convince him to camp out with them all night. sounds like, hey, you want to come with us? and he didn't know what he was getting himself into. >> reporter: let's just ask him real quick. julio, you say you really didn't know what you wanted in the ipad. how did these guys convince you to come along? >> these are some of my best friends. and he's all about electronics and stuff. >> reporter: you're here more for moral support? >> yeah, i'll call it moral support. >> reporter: all right. well, have a good day, guys, thanks for talking to us. carol, we'll talk to you later. >> julio's a good friend. thanks so much, dan, we appreciate it. couple of controversial calls at an ncaa tournament, a 16 seed may be feeling they weren't just playing the top seed but the guys in the striped shirts too. that's next. and he dressed in drag and

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carrots! creamy! for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years.

in the history of the ncaa tournament, a number 16 seed has never knocked off a number one seed. unc asheville had a chance against syracuse to do that last night. but their fans and those pulling for a shocker at the neutral pittsburgh site think the bulldogs were robbed with 35 seconds to go and the orange up three, the ball seemed to go off the hands of syracuse, and the ball out of bounds and there you go, the refs awarded the ball to syracuse. two free throws later and the orange had a win. let's bring back our sports columnist at the "daily beast." welcome. >> welcome. >> does unc asheville have an argument here? >> no. you know, refs make bad calls. syracuse was up by three with 35 seconds left. you know, that's a long way to have to go to win the game. there's not that much time left. and this is part of basketball. if they want to go to instant replay on every play, that'll be fine.

it was a close game, and i think syracuse earned it and for -- >> that's really difficult to understand you. can you lean forward a bit because you're breaking up weirdly there. >> right. any better? >> lean closer. >> any better? >> yeah, that's good. that's better. let me ask you it this way. this play happened less than a minute after a rarely called lane violation against asheville. syracuse got a second chance at free throws and made them. so bad call? >> the lane violation according to the stories i've read was correct. a player was in the lane, you know. before the free throw hit the rim and that's the call. and that can't be disputed. the play that can be disputed was the out of bounds call, it was a mistake by referees, referees are human. until you replace them with robots, that's the way it's

going to be. i'm not a believer in conspiracy theorys and i don't think the refs were trying to throw the game to syracuse. >> and i think fans normally, even though this is a neutral site, but fans really are cheering for the underdog for the upset win and maybe that's what they were most upset about that they didn't get that. >> well, you know, there's no question. and syracuse is a boogie man this year. they have this sex abuse scandal with bernie fein. and i think syracuse should have been suspended. the ncaa as usual took no action because syracuse is a big-time team. and this is the way it goes. but you're right, people want upsets, big-time upsets in the ncaa tournament and knocking off a number one seed when you're 16, it would have been a great story line, but it didn't happen. >> thanks for joining us. we appreciate it. >> okay. thank you. >> senator john mccain's

daughter meghan is making a splash on the pages of "playboy." she's fully clothed but reveals quite a bit about herself and her opinion of one of sarah palin's daughters. more on that story next. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader.

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here's some stories we're watching right now in the newsroom. new details about the american soldier accused of massacring 16 afghan civilians. his defense attorney tells us the soldier is being transported to military prison in kansas right now. the lawyer says his client was stressed after witnessing a comrade getting wounded the day before the shootings. gas prices keep on climbing. the average cost of a gallon of unleaded gas rose a penny in the last 24 hours. it's now $3.83 a gallon. just last week, it was nearly 7 cents cheaper. and post things about your

bosses online, you might pay. a flight attendant learning that the hard way. a 24-year veteran of american airlines was fired and he's fighting the firing. he was pretty well known in flier circles for his videos poking fun at american's financial troubles. one of his characters was meant to be like, you know, margaret thatcher, the iron lady. watch. >> those people on the ramp creep me out. >> of all our regional managers, who's the weakest link? >> well, the woman that's running the flight attendants down in miami is probably the most ineffective person i have in the whole company. >> can we fire her? >> no, don't fire her. i like it like that. >> american filed for bankruptcy a few months ago and has said it wants to cut 13,000 jobs and american spokesman didn't mention the videos when talking about the firing of this particular guy. but told nbc miami that david published the private details of

american airlines' passengers and promoted competitors on its website. senator john mccain's daughter meghan is blasting bristol palin. mccain says sarah palin's daughter lied when she claimed mccain carried around tons of designer luggage on the campaign trail and had hair and make-up people follow them around constantly. mccain also reveals personal information about herself saying she almost overdosed on xanax the day before the 2008 election. political buzz is your rapid-fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the clock playing with us today. political analyst goldie taylor. and georgetown professor chris mettsler. first question about joe biden. let's listen to what he said to some auto workers in toledo yesterday. >> mitt romney, rick santorum,

and newt gingrich, these guys have a fundamentally different economic philosophy than we do. >> okay. so the democrats are putting joe biden out there in an attempt to make blue-collar workers love them. but here's the question. is just call me joe really the answer? >> i think it's the start of the answer. but, you know, republicans will have to begin to reconnect with blue-collar workers, you know, come this fall or they're frankly going to lose this election. you're looking at the, you know, suburban and rural areas of pennsylvania, missouri, indiana, places like that swing states like missouri which are really going to become more and more important. and they're going to have to fight against joe, you know, who is, you know, the everyday guy, the amtrak guy. >> chris? >> well, i think for republicans say it ain't so joe is actually the perfect candidate for us. we know that he's going to offer us very interesting gaffes. so as a result of that, we like

the fact that he's going to be on the campaign trail telling us about all of these interesting things. in terms of republicans connecting with blue-collar voters, of course republicans are going to do that. that's a natural part of our base. and so from our perspective, we welcome the vice president back to the stage from an undisclosed location where he's been hiding for all this time. >> dean? >> i don't think call me joe is enough. i think he should do initials like j.b. or his middle name starts with an r., like j.r. and come out and say things like hey, y'all, i like cheesy grits, like mitt romney did. i don't think they have to worry about any kind of elitist tag if mitt romney's the nominee. he's in the .01%. he's not comfortable in his own skin. i don't think blue collar or white collar are going to connect with mitt romney. call me joe, or not, i think the problem with republicans is going to be mitt romney as their nominee. >> question number two, the lines have been drawn over the violence against women act.

here's dianne feinstein on the senate floor. >> the bill includes lesbian and gay men. the bill includes undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic abuse. the bill gives native american tribes authority to prosecute crimes. in my view, these are improvements. domestic violence is domestic violence. >> and democrats say that's why republicans don't like the violence against women act. and who doesn't like -- the question is, is this all political grand standing. chris? >> it absolutely is political grand standing. first and foremost, it is clear that republicans don't support having violence against women. so to suggest that is simply stupid. in addition to which, what we have here is the democrats continuing this theme of the

republican war on women which quite frankly does not exist. so what you have here is if democrats want to include all of these things, why don't they have a clean bill? why don't they allow open amendments? why don't they perceive that way to try to hijack the bill for political purposes is ridiculous. >> goldie? >> the war on women doesn't exist? well, i would invite rick santorum and the others to stay out of my doctor's office and birth control pills which i use for other reasons. i think at the end of the day, republicans are doing themselves a grave disservice. they have literally beaten themselves this election cycle by attacking, you know, freedoms that women understand to be, you know, fought 50 years ago like birth control. you know, and to include, you know, the members of the lgbt community, native american community, and others in this domestic violence bill is the right thing no matter who the victim is. >> are you telling me that democrats and republicans are playing politics in an election year? i can't believe this is

happening. good luck with the republicans being against the bill that is to protect women from violence. i don't care about the nuance of this. the average person is going to hear this and say, of course, you should be in favor of the bill. forget about this little thing, what kind of country are we in? the republican party continues to move to the right and deevolve losing moderates, liberals, now it's going to lose women. they're like the party of cave men at this point. it's subsequently and politically wrong for them. >> wow, that was quite a rant. now it's time for your buzzer beater. 20 seconds each. here's the third question and it's about joe biden again. as we were looking at joe biden, look at that tan. he rivals john boehner for goodness sakes. where did joe biden get that tan? dean? >> i think he's going to be a new cast member on "jersey shore," actually, joe, the situation, and snooki in the hot tub, or maybe a two for one deal on d street in d.c. or he fell asleep. it's not a good look for him.

i'm worried about him, carol. >> i don't know where he got that tan, but i sure hope it fades a bit over the comiing wo e weeks. we've got enough in boehner. >> actually, i wore the shirt in support of the vice president's tan. because his tan looks about this color. and i think part of what has happened here is he got it at a tanning salon. because as you know in the obama health care act, there is a surcharge on indoor tanning beds, and i think what he's showing is that he supports that by having such a horrific orange tan. >> that is a stretch, wow. thank you for playing with us today. we appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. a twister caught on camera moments before ripping apart a michigan neighborhood. >> oh, my god. oh, my god.

>> more amazing pictures coming your way after a break. and we get reaction to the latest "american idol" controversy. a contestant kicked off the show for lying, now a fellow singer is speaking out. [ male announcer ] aggressive new styling. a more fuel-efficient turbocharged engine. and a completely redesigned interior. ♪ the new c-class with over 2,000 refinements. it's amazing...inside and out. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services.

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russell brand is getting out on bail after getting arrested last night in new orleans. cnn's showbiz correspondent joining us live from los angeles to tell us why. spill it.

>> oh, gosh, carol. this is a little bit of a convoluted crazy story. but russell brand was arrested for allegedly grabbing a photographer's cell phone and throwing it through the window of a building in new orleans. and the new orleans police tell cnn entertainment that officers picked him up yesterday afternoon at a casino and charged him with simple criminal damage to property. they say he took a phone from someone who was taking his photo and threw it at a window of a downtown window shattering the glass. this all began monday night in new orleans where brand is in town shooting a movie. a photographer filed a police report. he claims that russell got angry at him for taking pictures on his iphone and he grabbed it and hurled it through the window of a law office. police tell us he was only at jail for a very short time before he paid bail. in the meantime, brand was joking about the incident shortly before the arrest. here's what he tweeted. since steve jobs died, i cannot bear to see anyone use an iphone irreverently. what i did was a tribute to his

memory. i don't know, that's just what he said. >> i don't think the people on the other side of that window are laughing. >> right. >> "american idol," the controversy there. someone else is talking about it. who? >> you know, lots of people. just about everybody this morning because "american idol" elimination was last night and shannon is gone. it leaves ten contestants, but her elimination is overshadowed by jermaine jones. for those who may have missed this. earlier this week jermaine was disqualified by "american idol" producers and asked to leave the competition after they learned there were outstanding warrants for his arrest that he allegedly failed to disclose. however, jones tells cnn he did disclose his arrest record. he claims they investigated his past, and he says he was blind sided when he was called out on the show. if it's any consolation, it seems that jones was really well liked by his fellow contestants. cnn caught up with shannon after

she was voted off last night. and here's what she had to say. >> i know there's lots of people that like to twist and turn lots of things, and i think it was best it was there because lots of people see the truth and how well jermaine took that and how accepting he was of the whole situation and how he took that in such a graceful way. >> and she's a graceful girl for 16 years old. and we have to say, she was very nice. but carol, she was good. she was good this week. so i kind of hated to see her go. >> i know. i wish i could comment, but i -- i don't watch -- i'm in bed, that's why. >> oh, carol! >> i know. >> i'll tivo it. >> that's all right. i'll watch for you. >> all right. thank you. >> michelle turner, thank you. want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world? a.j.'s got it tonight at 11:00 eastern on hln. auto sales are up, jobs in the industry are up, but is manufacturing really on the road to recovery?

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take a look at these pictures. these pictures are from dexter, michigan, where a tornado as you can see is caught on camera as it approaches. incredibly, no one was killed or injured, but more than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed. some homes were flattened. let's bring in meteorologist rob

marciano. this is unusual. >> we've been saying that a lot for the past few weeks. a lot of unusual things happening. they don't know how strong this was, but 100 homes damaged. the average home being worth over $200,000. a well-built home. it was not a small tornado by any stretch. remarkable nobody was seriously injured or killed in this. they, you know, fire crews as typical going door-to-door to make sure everybody is okay. and seems as though most folks are accountable. the national weather service going to go out there today and check it out like they always do and do a full storm survey and see how strong it was. at least an ef-2, probably an ef-3, that mean winds over 135 miles an hour. if it gets rated that, it'll be the earliest in the season an ef-3 has ever hit the state of michigan. >> wow. so should we expect more and worse tornadoes to come since spring is expected to be hotter than usual? >> well, i mean, that doesn't help. but you also need dynamics to get the ball rolling, as well. so if we have the dynamics, we certainly have the heat.

and looks like the longer range forecast is going to show just that, more heat for the next 90 days. if we get the dynamics like we've had the last two weeks then we'll see more in the way of tornadoes. will we see them today? quick check at some of the maps as far as what we're looking at. most of the action's going to be well to the north of alabama and mississippi. but this is a very, very weak front. so as carol mentioned, it's been driven mostly by the heat. temperatures today expected once again to be 30 degrees above average in places like chicago where a high of 76. tomorrow's high will probably blast away any sort of records they've had for st. patrick's day. threat for severe storms and the potential for tornadoes today are likely back across western texas. but we don't expect any sort of widespread outbreak. but you know, we didn't expect to see strong tornadoes like we did last night across michigan. with this heat and humidity we have in the air, we have to be on guard for these sort of things happening because this time of year, it can happen. >> we've got something weird happening in washington, d.c.

george clooney is standing in the middle of a group of people. >> that's why i was getting wrapped. >> yeah, because we had to take this picture of george clooney. he's literally surrounded by dozens of people. and apparently the park police, as you can see, the park police are there and they're arresting some people. we don't -- it's not clear to me why they're arresting this guy and taking him away. perhaps we'll find that out in the next hour of newsroom. but as you can see, george clooney was part of this. and he is in washington because he's testifying about what's going on in sudan right now. he's got a movie coming out, a documentary coming out. he met with the president on what's happening in sudan right now. and i expect he's talking to more movers and shakers in washington, d.c. can we hear what this guy said? did you hear what this guy said? i'm talking to my producers now. did not hear it. okay. so that man is being led away. we see more men with those t-shirts on. i guess the park police went up to this group of people and said, hey, if you don't get out

of this area by the count of three -- >> you need to leave the premises. >> i don't know if it was because of george clooney or they're on private property or if, you know, it's a security risk or if they were protesting too much, but the park police warned these people to move from this place or they were going to place them under arrest. and as you can see, oh, i see a democrat from virginia in there. he's getting arrested too. this must be an embassy. do we know what this building is? we don't know what this building is. i would suspect they were protesting in front of some embassy dealing with sudan and that's why they're getting arrested. that's my guess. >> they've got cuffs on george clooney too. >> yeah, i guess he was with the guy in the t-shirt that initially got arrested. >> i suspect he won't be in jail long, but -- >> they don't look upset, do that? i think they were trying to prove a point. >> part of the grand plan? >> yeah, part of the grand plan to prove their point.

they're outside the sudanese embassy. i love when i'm right. outside the sudanese embassy probably protesting, yeah -- protesting the terrible things that are going on in the sudan. and as you can see, it wasn't a surprise that george clooney and jim moran were going to be in front of the sudanese embassy because there were plenty of photographers onhand recording this arrest by the u.s. park police. when we find out more, we'll get back to the scene in washington, d.c. and tell you more. i wish we could hear it, but we can't right now, we'll bring it to you later. also coming up next, president obama's reelection bid kicks up a notch or two today. he's heading to his hometown of chicago. he's got a campaign event there and another one later tonight here in atlanta. and annoying account fees. at e-trade, our free easy-to-use online tools and experienced retirement specialists can help you build a personalized plan.

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the ncaa is now responding to that controversy involving an offensive chant during a tournament game between southern mississippi and kansas state. members of the southern miss pep band were caught on camera yelling at kansas state's angel rodriguez. >> trying to come over and draw the charge. rodriguez has let the ball go, and he's a freshman, but he's about as cool as they come right now. >> the ncaa issued a statement and this is what it says, "the institution responded in a timely and appropriate fashion to address the matter." any determination of championship misconduct is the purview of the men's basketball committee. the president of southern miss promised to take disciplinary action against the students

involved. vice president joe biden making the fight for the white house personal, biden played point man for the obama campaign and a union hall speech attacking gop candidates by name. >> you know what's kind of amazing, gingrich and romney and santorum, they don't let the facts get in their way. nobody knows better than you and your families the real price you pay to allow this reorganization to take place, plant closures, wage freezes, lower wages. they know, everybody knows, these companies would not be in existence today without the sacrifices of all of you in the uaw. >> yep, he's talking to the united auto workers. let's turn to our political director paul steinhauser.

it's no accident he was speaking to a crowd in front of the united auto workers union, right? >> yeah. >> it seems the president's campaign is in full swing now. >> it sure does. besides picking on him earlier for his tan. but here's the politics, carol. listen, i spoke to democratic strategists today and they say this is no surprise, he's reprising he played in 2008 and in 2010. he's the re-election ambassador to blue-collar workers, to white working class voters. and we're going to see more of this. ohio yesterday, you know your home state, battleground state, our jessica yellin got good reporting say where is biden going to be next week? florida talking about medicare and the republicans' budget plans to oppose that. he's also going to be talking you can see on the map, virginia, pennsylvania, iowa, new hampshire, what do all of these things have in common? battleground states. now, what about the president himself?

carol, five fundraisers today. three in atlanta down your way later today and two in the chicago area. so the president himself also on the campaign trail today playing the role of fundraiser in chief. >> well, i know he's going to be in chicago today. he's going to have company. >> he's already had company in illinois. big republican primary there on tuesday. mitt romney was there earlier today. campaigning, rick santorum will also be in illinois later today and both of them, of course, also in puerto rico, romney going down later today, santorum just ending up two days there. air force one, you can see right there, that's the kind of plane that mitt romney, rick santorum would love to be riding some day. carol? >> paul steinhauser reporting live from washington. if you're enjoying the warm weather right now, just remember, there's a catch. you might know what it is already. the mild winter means allergy season is off to an early start apparently pollen loves warm winters too. one doctor at an allergy clinic in virginia tells the washington post that it's unusual to see patients this miserable this early in the year.

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now, a follow-up to a story we told you about last month. google in hot water for tracking iphone users. well, now regulators are reportedly investigating. alison kosik is following this from the new york stock exchange. is this the beginning of a new legal battle for google? >> it could be. what the "wall street journal"

is saying is that the ftc regulators are looking into whether google did something here. this began last month when the "wall street journal" found out that google may have been tracking people online. people who use apple safari browser, either on their pc, ipad, or iphone. if google knows about you, knows what you search online, it can target ads directly to you. think about it, advertising is really how google makes its money. but the problem here is that the way safari is designed, it's designed to block third-party tracking, but google looks like it may have found a way around that. the "wall street journal" caught google's hand in the cookie jar and then google then stopped. >> what happens next? will google be fine? >> it's certainly a possibility. analysts say it could be tough because what the ftc has to do is prove that google intended to act this way. and google says, uh-uh, it was an accident that we did this. but google, if you remember,

it's been in trouble before. it was fined for collecting personal information a couple of years ago when the google vehicles were taking pictures for the street view maps when google, oops, accidentally collected personal information from those unencrypted wi-fi networks. this should be an interesting one to follow. >> indeed. live at the new york stock exchange, thank you. that does it for me this hour. fredericka whitfield is in for kyra phillips. >> you say that very sadly. >> i know you're going to have more on george clooney being arrested. >> that's right. we've got new images of that. and we know that he's been very passionate about the issue or the causes in sudan, so he took it to the streets and now he's been arrested. some might have expected that was likely to happen. that's always the potential when you go out on the picket line too. carol, good to see you. have a good weekend. >> happy st. patrick's day. >> wear that green. have a good one. hello again,