brother is looking good for denver. >> i am now going to not talk about jpmorgan but about madeleine stowe. she says she's going to tell me her personal story of revenge. she wouldn't go there. i'm going to get it. >> so lovely. we do this all tomorrow again. tomorrow on "starting point," captain sully sullenberger is going to join us live. a new book out. and that should be exciting. thank you for watching. i'm brooke baldwin in new york. let's go to carol costello. "cnn newsroom" continues right now. >> hi, brooke. >> tossing the football around. >> happening now in the "newsroom," americans are becoming optimistic things are about to get better for them and the nation and they apparently know the man who can fix the economy. at least at the moment that would be mitt romney. we'll hear from romney live this hour. uncontrolled acceleration. honda looking into this video showing a car plowing through city streets at 80 miles per

hour. is a stuck pedal to blame? the wife of former syracuse basketball coach accused of molesting ball boys goes public this morning addressing claims she knew what was going on with her husband. plus this -- ♪ i won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me ♪ >> lee greenwood making a plea for a better america. he's got a new book asking does god still bless the usa? we'll ask him when he stops by later this hour. "newsroom" begins right now. good morning to you. i'm carol costello. your money front and center from capitol hill to the campaign trail. even a rare lunchtime meeting between president obama and congressional leaders from both parties. the rivals may break bread but don't expect them to make peace. john boehner is warning of another battle brewing over the debt ceiling.

last year you remember that ugly standoff. the government flirted with shutdowns and the nation's bond rating was downgraded for the first time ever. now boehner says again that there will knob compromise. every dollar of new spending must be offset by at least a dollar in cuts. listen to what he told erin burnett. >> it is a line in the sand because washington has kicked the can down the road and kicked the can down the road and kicked the can down the road and the american people think we're crazy. they are ready for washington to take action. i'm here. i'm ready to do it. let's go. >> so you can imagine how that lunch meeting may go. let's talk about that lunch meeting. president obama is planning to pitch a five-point to do list to stoke the economy. he's going to give that to-do list to john boehner. dan lothian at the white house. i don't know, it just sounds like it's going to be an ugly pointless meeting. >> reporter: it certainly does sound like that. the president believes that this

to-do list will provide relief for millions of americans. some of the things he's pushing include tax breaks for small business es that he believes wil lead to job creation allowing small businesses to hire more workers and be able to pay those workers a little bit more money. the white house and president in particular believing that small businesses are really sort of the engine for the economic recovery. in addition the president wants congress to provide relief for those homeowners who are struggling in those upside down mortgages especially in hard hit areas like nevada so looking to allow them to refinance their loans at a lower rate providing a savings of approximately $3,000 for those homeowners. the president will be making this pitch of this to-do list when he visits a local business here today in the d.c. area and then coming back here to the white house for that meeting that you talked about with congressional leaders on this

will he approximate push this to-do list. a source telling cnn that this meeting was planned weeks ago before the president started talking about that to-do list. >> he has this to-do list but to get the to-do list accomplished, he needs bipartisan spirit. can he get that in an election year? >> reporter: that's a very good point. i think there's a lot of skepticism that anything can really get done in this political environment. one indicator of that chairman of rnc just this morning sending around an e-mail in a statement that said in part "instead of assigning homework to congress, professor obama should look at his own list of broken promises to cut the deficit in half, lower health care costs, solve our energy crisis." that gives you a sense of what the tone is going into these meetings today while the president is pushing this to-do list, republicans are pushing his "not done list." >> i hope they have good food for lunch at least. >> reporter: that's right. >> dan lothian live at the white

house. bipartisanship does live at least it does when politicians are joking around. we're about to show you a video spoof starring new jersey's republican governor and newark's democratic mayor. it's really funny. to set things up for you, last month cory booker grabbed her c ic headlines when he helped rescue a neighbor from a fire. >> governor. >> how are you doing? >> got any problems you want me to handle? a fire anywhere? people trapped? >> no. >> like a bad automobile folks where you need me to help folks? >> nothing like that. >> cat in a tree? >> we're all set here. >> trooper, what have we got? >> mayor, thank you for coming. two-alarm fire on state street. a car broken down on route 1 and a little girl lost her cat in a tree. >> i got this.

>> booker! >> what was that? >> steve, listen, i got to get going. i think we're going to have a flat tire here. i'll hang up first. good-bye. go, sit tight. i got this. >> booker! >> absolutely. >> my baby. >> booker, stand back. >> i got this. i got this. >> booker. >> governor romney, yes. that was me running into the fire. yes. i do shovel snow as well. yes, you're very per swasive. i'm not a background guy. i know you need a -- >> excuse me, mayor. i got this. >> christie! >> it's really funny. or maybe i have a warped sense

of humor. politics aside, the men are friends in real life and one is a republican and one is a democrat. the video was shown at the new jersey version of the correspondents dinner. there are concerns among car owners here in the united states for this white knuckled ride. 17 people were injured in this crash including the elderly couple inside that hyundai. they think a malfunction caused the car to accelerate to 80 miles an hour. the car maker and the government say they are investigating. in texas, this is being called the ft. bend county grand canyon. the problems began last weekend when heavy rains washed over a nearby levee and chewed away ten feet of ground. big chunks continue to crumble

and officials are keeping a close eye on this sinkhole. that's just insane. congress is holding a hearing today into the tsa. the agency received a failing grade on handling security breaches. an internal investigation says tsa did not accurately report, track and fix breaches. tsa management agrees improvement is needed. at any moment mitt romney is due to speak in st. petersburg, florida. no more talk of same-sex marriage. it's the economy stupid, romney style, hammering away at the president's handling of the economy and a sluggish economy that has many americans concerned. romney is fresh off two more primaries win working on his message about repairing the economy. i just told you that. jim acosta is in st. pete to tell us more. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning, carol. that's right. mitt romney started this yesterday up in iowa talking about the national debt and the economy. he called the national debt a prairie fire of debt that is

sweeping across the country. he's going to continue delivering that message in a few moments here in st. petersburg, florida. he has a national debt clock. miniature version of the national debt clock positioned behind a group of senior citizens on stage. he's going to go back to that message. carol, i have to tell you, the romney campaign is keeping one eye on florida and another eye on joe biden giving a speech later today in ohio where the vice president will be going after mitt romney on this issue of bain capital, the private investment firm that mitt romney ran. the romney campaign gave their response to some attacks. i'll read that to you in just a moment. consider what the vice president is going to be talking about in this speech, he's going to talk about romney's time at bain accusing mitt romney of loading up companies with debt and then getting rid of those companies while at the same time pocketing millions of dollars in profits and the vice president is

expected to say what is passed is prolog if this happened in the past, vice president biden will say what should we expect if mitt romney is president. just got a response from a campaign spokeswoman for the romney campaign. it's interesting, carol, this response does not mention his time at bain but it does say we welcome a discussion about jobs and the economy. carol? >> i can't wait for the debates to begin. i know mitt romney doesn't have the nomination sewn up just yet but you can manage this is going to be a big part of the campaign in the month to come. >> reporter: absolutely. i think that's right. and, you know, so far mitt romney is not really talked about this in the last couple of days. you know, the obama campaign put out that ad on monday talking about bain. priorities usa, a pro-obama super pac yesterday issued an ad on bain. i just watched it in my hotel room earlier this morning here in florida. it's playing in battleground states. unlike what happened during the republican primaries where mitt

romney talked about bain just a touch, he's not really talked about that subject at all. expect the obama campaign to keep pushing it until he does talk about it, carol. >> jim acosta, live this st. petersburg, florida, this morning. lee greenwood has a book out. he'll talk about god, patriotism, and how to make america better. "newsroom" will be right back. the best part of any great meal?

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just about 15 minutes past the hour checking our top stories now. in two hours we expect the wife of syracuse assistant basketball coach bernie fine to announce she's suing espn. her husband is accused of molesting boys decades ago.

lori fine became part of the story when an audiotape surfaced that seemed to suggest she knew about her husband's alleged sexual abuse but a family member says the tape was tampered with. local media report the fire has swelled to more than 2,000 acres. at least 500 firefighters are on hand but they've only been able to contain 5% of the fire. police are looking for the person who robbed the oceanside california home of junior sea j mourning fans in broad daylight, entered the house, rummaged through drawers and went into the garage making off with a bike and some mementos. new details in the trayvon martin case. two sources close to the investigation tell us that a doctor's examination of the shooter, george zimmerman, may back up his claims of a brutal scuffle with the teenager. it adds details of what we can't

see in this police surveillance tape on the night trayvon martin was killed. martin savidge is here to explain. the exam was done the next day. there are medical records, what do they say? >> this is interesting stuff. a medical exam done by george zimmerman's personal doctor the day after the ualtercation took place. if he had been seriously injured, the fight between him and trayvon, he would have gone to the hospital. he didn't go to the hospital or have a concussion. the records show that george zimmerman had a broken nose and two black eyes and larceceratio in the back of his head and a minor injury to his back. it suggests that something happened. it doesn't necessarily explain the severity of the all the ter. it doesn't tell us who was the aggressor here. ben crump was speaking on

anderson cooper last night. this is what he said. >> he sought an appointment with the doctor to get clearance to return to work. it's us suspicious he doesn't h to go to the doctor on february 26th when he shoots and kills trayvon martin. he doesn't have to go to the e.r. the next morning he has to go. we do not know one thing, anderson, and that's trayvon martin was taken away in an ambulance and he lost a battle for his life. >> we should point out that both sides will look at this medical report and claim it helps them. george zimmerman says it proves he was in a fight. trayvon martin's family says it doesn't prove it was the fight of his life. >> injuries to trayvon martin. do we know anymore from the autopsy report? >> we do know this. at least his hands were injured. what does that say? does it back up george

zimmerman's account that zimmerman says this young man came and actually attacked him, punched him, knocked him to the ground and began beating his head against the cement or as trayvon martin's attorney would say, it only shows that trayvon was defending himself from george zimmerman who they say started all of this by profiling and then chasing the young teen. >> wow. martin savidge, thanks so much. today the man convicted of helping criminals, murderers and rapist tells the court he brought peace to the country and not war. and don't forget if you head out the door, you can take us with you. watch us on your mobile or computer. head to cnn.com/tv. r mouth goes, do you really think brushing is enough to keep it clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine cleans virtually your entire mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. listerine... power to your mouth.

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today one of the world's most notorious warlords argued for a lighter sentence in front of a court. charles taylor was convicted last month of helping the rebel groups that viciously slaughtered people in his neighboring country. prosecutors say he's responsible for murder, rape, using child soldiers and even amputating people's limbs in return the rebels gave him diamonds.

charles taylor stood up and defended himself. what did he say? >> he really strongly defended himself. you remember the movie, carol, "blood diamonds." this is the man many would accuse of starting that whole awful industry and making it so big. remember naomi campbell had also received some blood diamonds from charles taylor. she actually testified earlier on in this trial. he said i didn't do it. he said i did not have direct command and control of these rebels. they were known as ruf rebels and he is alleged to have armed them and they committed atrocities and he got a chunk of diamonds in return. it's a big deal for people in afri africa to see charles taylor like this. this is the first one taken for a war crime ever. i'm from kenya. it's like an amazing sight for anyone from kenya or anywhere in africa to see this is actually

happening. the one thing that i think people in the united states today would find interesting is that charles taylor also talked about president george w. bush. he says how come i'm here for war crimes and you have someone like the u.s. president, former president george w. bush who admitted to torture and nothing happened to him. is that fair? listen to how he put it. >> president george w. bush not too long ago ordered torture and admitted to doing so. torture is a crime against humanity. >> charles taylor also continued to slam the u.s., carol. he said basically the whole trial was totally unfair and the reason he gave was also because he said the united states actually gave the prosecution millions of dollars that was totally out of the system and that was legally allowed and that they also used the money to

kind of pay off witnesses and coerce witnesses and it just meant that he ended up with an unfair and unjust trial and that the money really influenced the outcome of the trial and the prosecution wants him in jail for 80 years. the sentencing is going to happen on the 30th of may. carol? >> we'll check back with you. zain verjee live in london. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, is there a middle ground in dealing with a deficit? we're headed for another showdown over the debt ceiling. why? because it was so much fun the last time. you remember the high stakes brinksmanship, the last-minute deal no one was happy with and lowering of america's credit rating. embarrassing. now house speaker john boehner wants to deja vu it all over again. raise the debt ceiling again, he says, and then cut, cut, cut. >> it is a line in the sand

because washington has kicked the can down the road, kicked the can down the road, kicked the can down the road and american people think we're crazy. they're ready for washington to take action. i'm here. i'm ready to do it. let's go. >> boehner said no to increasing taxes. predictably democrats balked. >> republicans can grandstand all they want. the fact is any agreement to avoid a fiscal cliff facing us at the end of this year must not gut programs that support the middle class. must be balanced with policies that ask millionaires to help a little bit and do their fair share. >> so while the deficit hovers around a trillion a year, both parties are still arguing on how to reduce it. it is in a word, wearying. we were going to ask you your thoughts about congress but we already know. we'll ask you this question instead. is there a middle ground in dealing with the deficit?

facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your responses later this hour. the president has a to do list but will lawmakers get to work on it? we'll look at why this congress is getting -- we already know it has a bad reputation. we'll tell you if it can fix it. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air.

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bank of america has a new program to help homeowners in danger of foreclosure and they're paying people thousands of dollars to participate. say what you say? alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. tell us about this. >> you know there's a catch. you have to sell your home in a short sale. meaning, you have to sell your home at a loss. if you do, bank of america will give you money to move. it will give you $2,500 to $30,000 and that depends on what your situation is. the reality with this is catch or not, this is considered a

better alternative to foreclosing because what you're doing is selling the house, the bank isn't taking it from you and it is the lesser of two evils. you can make out better if you sole a home at a loss than if you foreclose on it. the average foreclosure sells for 150,000. the average sort sale sells for $185,000. >> that's not bad. what's in it for the bank? >> for the bank, it's a way for them to cut bait. a short sale process is much cheaper for the bank. you look at the average foreclosure process, it drags on for more than a year. even two to three years in some states when the courts get involved. the bank during that time is responsible for everything from property taxes to maintenance to legal fees and this stuff just drags on and on. if you do a short sale, they get the house back faster and turn it over to a new buyer and it's already working. in fact, bank of america began testing this program in florida last year. seems to be working. guess what? it's going nationwide. other banks are doing the same

thing. chase, wells fargo, yes. they have similar programs. carol? >> okay. i'm looking. the dow is up 22 points. i just want to look at some selleck because i was distracted by that. >> he's got a new show on another network. he's ringing the bell. >> we always say on another network. what is it? >> cbs. >> thank you. >> he helped ring the bell this morning. alison kosik, thanks so much. 30 minutes past the hour. stories we're watching right now. hyundai looking into this viral video that shows a car plowing through the streets at 80 miles per hour and then crashing. the son of an elderly couple who were in the vehicle posted this vehicle. this happened in south korea by the way. he thinks the malfunction caused the car to accelerate. the car maker and south korean government now investigating. new details are surfacing about george zimmerman's

injuries. a medical report by zimmerman's family doctor says he had a broken nose, two black eyes and two lacerations on the back of his head after the confrontation that ended in trayvon martin's death. zimmerman acknowledged shooting martin in february but claims it was self-defense. the defense in john edwards' corruption trial could wrap up its case as early as today. there are still two big questions. will his oldest daughter, cate, testify and will the former presidential candidate take the stand himself? edwards is accused of using campaign contributions to cover up his affair with rielle hunter. president obama has a to do list but will the so-called do nothing congress get to work on it? the president meets late every this morning with bipartisan leader at the white house for only the second time this election year. the president wants congress to get moving on issues like job creation and mortgage help. but that is likely an uphill battle. let's bring in dana bash. congressional correspondent.

it's depressing really. >> reporter: well, that's definitely one way to look at it and think a lot of people out there would agree with you. if you look at what the senate is going to do today, they'll spend six hours working very hard on five votes that everybody knows are not going to pass. let me give our viewers a sense of what they are. they have to do with a budget. the first vote is going to be on president obama's budget. guess how many votes people think will get? zero votes. that's right. then a vote on the house republican budget, which people out there know as paul ryan budget. that is probably going to get certainly more than zero but won't pass. then there will be three other votes on conservative budgets. you might ask logical question why are they taking all this time to have these votes that the senate knows is not going to pass? the answer is it's silly season. it's politics. and each side is hoping to maneuver in order to say you see, for example republicans will say democrats don't even

support the president's budget and democrats are going to say look at all of these republicans supporting what they call extreme budgets with too many budget cuts. >> i'm going to try to look at the glass half full. does either side have a legitimate point? >> reporter: you have to look hard. there are some legitimate points. for the democrats, let me start with republicans actually. the whole reason why we're having these votes is because they found a rule inside the senate rules that says that if the senate hasn't passed a budget resolution by april 1st, they can force these votes. the senate has not passed a budget resolution. the senate has not passed a budget for years and republicans say they're not doing their job and democrats say we have plans in place and we don't need to do this and they also know it's an election year and these votes could be used against some of their democrats in trouble. >> dana bash reporting from capitol hill. thanks. you know the song "god bless the usa" invokes a feeling of

patriotism for millions of americans. the man who wrote it and sang it is wondering if god still blesses the usa. lee greenwood is in our studios to talk about that. >> i believe the biggest gift we have is to converse with a work of art. through the great computer age, we are losing in a certain way interaction with real object. the computer doesn't feel pain. it doesn't feel any joy. those things can't be accomplished. art can communicate all of those things in a very quick and easy way. just look at them. look at the work of art. communicate with it. they are talking to you. just listen and answer.

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>> if congress, gop candidates and president obama can't fix what's wrong with america, who can? maybe it's lee greenwood? the iconic country music star. he thinks he has a solution and has a lot to do with his signature song, "god bless the usa." ♪ i won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me ♪ ♪ and i would gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today ♪ ♪ because there ain't no doubt i love this land ♪ ♪ god bless the usa >> god bless the usa" topped the

charts in the '80s and again after 9/11. it's become sort of a new sort of national anthem for many americans. greenwood has written a book "does god still bless the usa? plea for a better america" it hits stores this week. thank you for coming in. i'm excited to talk to you. >> great to be here. >> i always wondered what inspired you to write "god bless the usa?" >> i wanted to do something to unite my country. i'm originally from california and settled in tennessee after many years in nevada. i just had this inspiration. it took me about 2 1/2, 3 years because i had a country music career that was 300 days on the road. one day i said it's time to do that. i talked to my producer. i took the song in after i had written it on a bus one night. what do you think about this? he said if you want to do it, let's just do it right. we talked about the organization of the cities that i mentioned in the song and then of course it became a military anthem as

well which just thrilled me. >> did it take you a long time to write? you got on the bus and decided to write this song, did it come out? >> about half an hour. >> that's what you said in your book. that's impossible. >> i had a piano in the back of a bus plugged into my ears. you're inspired after a concert. you're excited. it gave me a chance to focus on the lyrics of the song, which i thought about for a long time. >> i read your book last night. i enjoyed it. i love the story that you were at the world trade center site and you just broke out into song in the middle of everything. tell us about what happened after you started singing. >> my wife, kim, and i went to new york several times. mayor giuliani asked us to come and we went for firemens memorial. we come in with police from new jersey and walk the trade tower site in smolders and as we're

walking through the rubble, i notice a long face of a lot of people not in recovery yet and i just got up on one of the steel beams and started singing. i just felt like they needed some inspiration and something to lift them up. two or three guys would stop and it was hard to get them out to where they are in that mode of sadness. we did our best and went onto the boat serving food for them. >> you start singing and people started singing with you. >> absolutely. >> that must have been a fantastic feeling for you. >> it always is. there's been many different environments where i've sang in places. sometimes just with my piano and many times in stadiums with tracks. people all stand up and sing with me. i love that. it's unification of americans. >> so awesome. you know that feeling of patriotism we had after 9/11 it seems sadly like ancient history. you write in your book and i'll take a quote and read it here.

are we teaching our children what patriotism mean? what are role models? there's never been a greater need for a return to true patriotism. how do we return to patriotism? what do we teach our children about love of country? >> well, it's intertwined between traditions of america and how we got started. that was a determination to be a country. i have a 17 year old and 13 year old and my older boy said is the american experiment over? that refers to the british empire and roman empire talking about how long our society may last. i say, well, son, it may depend on if we grasp the things that got us started. we're going to change a bit. evolve a bit. we have to grasp things that got us to be a country and form that united feeling as americans. >> what are those things? >> certainly the constitution. declaration of independence and remember how george washington was within a heartbeat and a day of losing our entire country.

there are little pieces of american in all of us and it takes all of us to represent america. >> when did americans lose that can-do spirit and that feeling of we can do everything and we can fix everything? >> it started with computers. >> do you think? >> as our life started getting faster and i heard this 30 years ago, people started saying life is moving so fast. that was so long ago. yet today's news is old news tomorrow and that's like cnn and other networks that work so hard to keep the news and keep us informed as americans, it goes so fast. we just can't seem to remember what tradition is and what yesterday was about. >> as you leave us, can you sing us a few? ♪ i'm proud to be an american where at least i know i'm free ♪ ♪ i won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me ♪ ♪ and i gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today ♪ ♪ because there ain't no doubt i love this land ♪ ♪ god bless this usa

[ applause ] >> thank you. >> we'll be back. thank you so much. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone likes a bit of order in their life. virtual wallet helps you get it. keep track of spending, move money with a slide, and use the calendar. all to see your money how you want. ♪

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haunted castle in geneva, new york. the castle boasts a ghostly woman who sighs and moans and mrs. fine will talk publicly about the sex abuse allegations haunting her and her husband, bernie, who at one time was a well respected basketball coach at syracuse university, until espn released a taped phone conversation between lori fine and one of bernie fine's accusers, former ball boy bobby davis. >> you know what? go to a place where there's gay boys. find yourself a gay boy. you know, get your rocks off and have it be over with. >> yeah but -- >> you know, he needs that male companionship that i can't give him nor is he interested in me. >> a federal investigation does continue. until now, mrs. fine has never spoken publicly about how these

allegations have ruined her life. until now. lawrence fisher and kevin tucker are mrs. fine's attorneys. welcome to you both. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> you just sent me a copy of the lawsuit laurie fine is filing against espn. lawrence, i want to ask you, why is the lawsuit against espn? >> well, espn published worldwide defamatory statements about laurie fine and they have essentially ruined her life and destroyed her reputation in a syracuse community that she loved and served for so many years. for that reason, we are seeking to hold espn accountable for their reprehensible actions. >> you know, we played that taped phone conversation that espn aired. laurie fine did say this in a taped phone conversation. she said -- i'm going to quote

here. he, bernie fine, needs male companionship i can't give him. if allegations against espn are true, how do you explain that, kevin? >> that statement is taken entirely out of context. he -- she's talking about, bobby davis, of course, not her husband. frankly, when when you look at the audio tape that has been released, the selective portions of it released out of context where 48 minutes of that tape exists, but only about two or three minutes have been released, much of the tape is inaudible and we really have a situation here where there was a manipulation of that audio tape in order to present ms. fine in a derogatory fashion so as to attack her husband. >> so who do you allege doctored the tape? >> well, espn certainly changed

the audio quality of the tape, produced only portions of it and did so out of context fashion, such that the tape seriously misleads and misrepresents the conversation that occurred. >> but why not file a lawsuit against bobby davis, since he provided the tape to espn? >> when you look at the complaint, you'll see that much of the relationship between laurie fine and bobby davis was one where she attempted for years to nurture him, for years to try and get him to better himself and to make something out of his life. she has always had a reservoir of sympathy for him. however misguided his actions are in this situation, she has no intentions of seeking to harm him in any way. she never has and she never will. >> and just a final question. i know laurie fine is going to speak at a press conference in

just about an hour. i know that she is still married to bernie fine, they still live in the same house in syracuse. will laurie fine share what her life is like now? >> most definitely. laurie will issue a statement today and explain how tremendously difficult it has been for her to endure this public scrutiny, this defamation, and really this vendetta against her family. she will speak to you today as a mother, as a wife, as a grandmother. >> thanks to you both. we'll be following the press conference that's set to take place at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. thanks to both of you for appearing with us earlier. we appreciate it. still ahead on "newsroom" your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, is there a middle ground in dealing with the deficit? your response is coming up. ife s look at you and just see a policy.

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we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the talk back question for you this morning, is there a middle ground in dealing with the deficit? this from doug. for you and i maybe, for congress, no. the system is broken. this from darren, no, and there shouldn't be! americans are taxed too much already and we don't have a revenue problem. this is by paul. by signing norquist's no tax

pledge and being against everything the president does they have really boxed themselves into a corner now. this from will, there is certainly a middle ground with the deficit. the problem is there's no middle ground with congress. keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. before we get to you we have to talk about espn because we just interviewed laurie fine's lawyers. they have filed a lawsuit against espn for airing this audio tape recording of a phone call between one of her husband, bernie fine's accusers and laurie fine. laurie fine seems in the phone call to validate the allegations against her husband, that he did indeed sexually abuse these two ball boys years ago. espn is now responding to the lawsuit and i want to be fair and tell you what they're saying about it. they said they haven't seen the lawsuit yet but they stand by their reporting. so i'm sure much more will come out on this today. >> it's been a report that's been a long time in the works

and we'll see where it goes from here. >> should be interesting. let's talk about something good. >> yeah. you know, some great nba hoops last night. earn is talking about the miami heat. lebron james, dwayne wayne, are they enough without chris bosh? the big three is down to the big two. facing indiana in game two, lebron james just wasn't clutch. this was, of course, his big criticism. the critics say he never comes through when the team really needs him. indiana goes on to win 78-75. lebron missed two free throws in the final minutes. the series is tied at one. it really looks like the heat need chris bosh in this series. also game one between the spurs and the clippers. san antonio looks like one of the best teams going into the playoffs. the spurs win easily, 108-92. game two against l.a. tomorrow night. got to show you this adorable video. a little girl consoling her father. this dad is a dutch soccer player. his team was just relegated to a

lower division after they died. she walks out on the field and says it's okay, dad. i still love you. that's what we imagine her saying because it is just so darn cute. >> oh, i love that. >> i still love you. it's fantastic. >> i love that. >> the feel good moment. i'm here for you. >> jeff, thank you. we'll be back in a minute.

good morning to you, i'm carol costello. just ahead in the newsroom, a major ruling in an international custody battle over a 7-year-old. the u.s. state department decides not to return the girl to her biological mother. a car takes off barreling through city streets at 80 miles per hour. the driver says he didn't hit the gas. the car maker is now scrambling to investigate what happened. it's a kodak moment no one expected. the camera and film company now admitting it had weapons grade uranium in an underground new york lab for more than 30 years. eating healthy versus paying more. a new study takes a closer look at the cost of organic food. we're asking a nutritionist if it pays off to pay more for your food. but we begin this hour with a legal tug of war and a 7-year-old girl who is caught in the middle. her birth mother, in guatemala, says the girl was stolen from her and she's vowing to fight a state department decision to not return her.

instead, the little girl will stay with the missouri couple who adopted her. rafael romo has been following this story. it's complicated and sad. >> it is very, very complicated. you have two families who both claim in two different countries that this girl belonged to them. she was born in 2004. she was allegedly stolen from her biological mother in guatemala in 2006 and unbeknownst to the family in the united states, she was sold to an adoption agency and then she was eventually adopted here in the united states. again, the parents didn't know anything about this. and so the bottom line is that the state department has decided that the girl is not to be returned to guatemala because the united states and guatemala were not signatories to an international convention that regulates these kind of cases. let's listen to how a state department spokeswoman explained that yesterday afternoon. >> that said, we can't accept cases under the hague convention on abduction if the treaty was

not in force at the time of the alleged wrongful removal or retention. so we consider the appropriate venue in the united states for pursuing this case is in the state courts. they're the competent organ for holding a full hearing on the merits and the best interests of the child. >> now, carol, the mother in guatemala says she's hoping to come to the united states to make her case here. the parents have not commented on the case. last year we obtained a statement through an attorney, and they said that their main priority is the safety of the child and that their best interests are their paramount priority but they have not really said anything about this tug of war or the custody dispute. >> well, you can see both sides, right? this guatemalan mother, her child is stolen from her and she thinks her child is gone forever. then she finds out, oh, this

couple in the united states adopted her. and for that couple, what a nightmare. you think you go to an adoption agency that's reputable, adopt a child. raise the child for four years, right? >> the girl is now seven years, so she hasn't really seen her biological mother since she was two, so that makes it five years, a crucial five years in which she learned to speak and is probably going to school and doesn't even know anything about guatemala. no matter how you look at this case, it's very sad from both angles. >> so if the mother comes from guatemala to fight her case, does she have a chance? >> it is a very long shot. she has to go to a state court in the united states and make her case. in that kind of situation, i'm no legal expert, but in that kind of situation all of the issues involved, not only the fact that she's the biological mother but also the welfare of the child and the outlook, the future of the child, all of that comes into play. so it is very, very difficult for the mother to actually get her girl back. >> rafael romo, thanks so much.

your money front and center this morning. in the next hour the president will meet with congressional leaders from both parties at the white house. it's only the second time he's done that this election year. they'll be discussing the president's five-point to do list which includes tax cuts, mortgage assistance and job creation. but guess what? it's pretty unlikely because our no-nothing congress is really doing nothing today. dana bash is on capitol hill, so that five-point plan probably won't go anywhere? >> reporter: not any time soon. and you know, look, we all know how much people are suffering out there. unemployment over 8%. problems with the economy galore. and so you would think that congress would at least be trying to focus on that kind of money and job creation today, and they are going to be debating, carol, for six hours budgets. and they're going to be having five votes on everything from president obama's budget to the house republican budget to other

conservative republican budgets. guess how many are going to pass? zero. that's right. they're all going into this debate knowing that they're going to have all of this rhetoric, have these votes and nothing is going to get done. president obama's budget was expected to almost get zero votes because democrats say they're just not going to be put on the hook for something they don't necessarily believe in. >> so you say this is political gamesmanship, but there are people running for high office. will it work? >> reporter: you know, with the approval rating of congress already at pretty much an all-time low in the teens, about 13%, and people out there again really suffering, and frankly not paying that much attention to this kind of intricate political debate, it's hard to see how it will work, when it's hard for those of us who have a front row seat here, we're scratching our heads. big picture, what are they hoping politically? republicans and democrats alike, what we're going to likely see is they're going to take these

votes and turn them into political ads coming to youtube accounts and television sets near you. but will it feed into the already frustrated feeling out there? you bet. >> dana bash reporting live for us this morning. republican mitt romney is fresh off two more primary wins and that much closer to clinching his party's presidential nomination. so now mr. romney is more focused than ever on the issue he thinks will put him into the white house. in a word, the economy. here's what he said about president obama in st. petersburg, florida. >> he has been a disappointment at best, and -- [ applause ] he spoke at that democratic convention about four years ago, and of course big greek columns behind him. i don't think he'll be speaking in front of greek columns this time, all right? he won't want to remind people of greece. >> greece, of course, is miles

an houred -- mired in a debt crisis. romney says greece is a cautionary tale and that the obama white house has chosen to ignore it. september 6 is a big night for president obama and music makers. it's the night president obama will accept the democratic nomination in charlotte, north carolina. while mtv hands out its annual awards in los angeles. well, mtv now plans to air its show an hour earlier to prevent a conflict with the president's acceptance speech. the nfl has moved its opening game of the season to accommodate the president. the defense in john edwards' corruption trial could wrap up its case as early as today but there are big lingering questions. will his oldest daughter, cate, take the stand? will his mistress, rielle hunter, be called to testify? and will the former presidential candidate take the stand in his own defense? edwards is accused of using campaign contributions to cover up his affair with hunter. new developments and new details in the trayvon martin

case. two sources close to the investigation tell us a doctor's examination of the shooter, george zimmerman, may back up his claims of a brutal scuffle with the teen. it has details of what we can't see on this police surveillance tape on the night trayvon martin was killed. martin savidge is here to tell us more. >> there are actually two key pieces of evidence now that we're starting to get a glimpse of. in both cases, both sides say that is supporting their version of events. first and foremost, those medical records that talk about george zimmerman and the injuries that he says he sustained in his battle with trayvon martin, what the doctors note essentially says is that george zimmerman had a broken nose, two black eyes, lacerations on the back of his head and minor injuries to his back and that, his defense team says, supports the fact that he got into a fight with trayvon martin. and, they say, that trayvon martin was at gresor. well, then comes the other key piece of evidence which was the autopsy report of trayvon martin, 17-year-old. it shows that his hands were

injured. that, the defense says, shows he threw the first punch. george zimmerman was right, he was knocked to the ground and he was in a desperate battle for his life. however, trayvon martin's family says, no, that's not the case. ben crump was on anderson cooper and here's what he said. >> we have a doctor's note that says why he came to the doctor. he sought an appointment with the doctor to get legal clearance to return to work. so it is very suspicious that he doesn't have to go to the doctor february 26 when he shoots and kills trayvon martin, he doesn't have to go to the e.r., but then the next morning he has to go. we do know one thing, anderson, and that is trayvon martin was taken away in an ambulance. he lost the battle for his life. >> carol, the point is here that ben crump, the attorney for trayvon martin's family is saying, look, george zimmerman may have been injured but he wasn't so seriously injured that he went to the hospital that night. he didn't have a concussion,

there by, not the fight of his life. this is not the end of this conversation. >> you talked about the injuries to trayvon martin. is the autopsy on trayvon martin complete now and released? >> it is. it's released but it's been released into the hands of the defense team. all of this is information that the investigation has been gathered by the prosecution. legally now they must provide it to the defense and that's what's happening this week, this flow of information. will we get to see all of it? that's probably going to have to be worked out in a court hearing. >> all right. martin savidge, thank you. people in an entire town flee their homes because of a raging wildfire closing in. firefighters are battling strong winds and rough terrain to try to control it. i never thought to use aspirin for muscle pain.

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tampered with. police this morning are looking for the person who rocked the oceanside, california, home of nfl star junior seau. it happened just days after his suicide. police say someone sneaked past mourning fans in broad daylight, entered the house, rummaged through the drawers and entered the garage. that's where the culprit made off with a bike and some mementos. people in crown king, arizona, are being warned the gladiator wildfire may circle back and threaten their community again. the fire has swelled to more than 2,000 acres. at least 500 firefighters are on hand but they have only been able to contain 5% of the fire. right now we want to take you live to the crown king area of arizona. tess raffles from our affiliate ktvk is on the ground there. tell us what's happening. >> good morning, carol. you know what, this morning some 350 folks from crown king are still evacuated, but there is some slight good news. that 5% containment that you

mentioned is on the line leading into the down of crown king which is about an hour and a half north of phoenix, so that is some good news. but of course with a wildfire like this, the pattern of those flames can change at any time and that's what firefighters fear. some 2,000 acres burned since this fire broke out mid-sunday and some 500 firefighters battling this, a lot of them stationed in the crown king area, protecting the line so the flames do not go into town. many also protecting an area filled with communication towers that could affect everything from cell phone service to internet to satellite, even apparently communication lines between homeland security, dps and other law enforcement agencies so that is a crucial area that folks are trying to protect right now. as for the conditions here, we are, of course, in arizona and it is hot. warm conditions, windy conditions over the next several days not providing any relief for these firefighters. even overnight they're not

making any headway because of those horrible conditions. we're also talking about steep terrain, carol, so at this point firefighters have no idea when, one, they'll get better control of this. only 5% containment. and two, as hundreds of folks await to find out when they can go back in. several structures lost so far since this all began sunday. it's believed to have started actually from a house fire in that crown king area just outside of town, which spread into a wildfire, so a lot of folks holding on to hope that their homes will be saved. back to you. >> tess rafols, thanks so much. happening right now on capitol hill, lawmakers looking to hold the tsa accountable. a hearing focusing on a highly internal critical report about the agency. the investigation said the tsa did not accurately report, track and fix security breaches. we're going to keep listening to this hearing. any news comes out of it, we'll pass it along to you. a viral video from south korea may raise concerns among some car owners here in the united states.

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now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, is there a middle ground in dealing with the deficit? we're headed for another showdown over the debt ceiling. why? because it was so very much fun the last time. you remember, the high stakes brinksmanship, the last-minute deal nobody was happy with and the lowering of america's credit rating. embarrassing. now house speaker john boehner

wants to deja vu it all over again. raise the debt ceiling again, he says, then cut, cut, cut. >> it is a line in the sand. it is a line in the sand because washington has kicked the can down the road, kicked the can down the road, kicked the can down the road and the american people think we're crazy. they're ready for washington to take action. i'm here. i'm ready to do it. let's go. >> predictably boehner said no to increasing taxes. predictably democrats balked. >> republicans can grandstand all they want. the fact is any agreement to avoid a fiscal cliff facing us at the end of this year must not cut program that say support the middle class. must be balanced with policies that ask millionaires to help a little bit, do their fair share. >> so while the deficit hovers around a trillion a year, both parties are still arguing over how to reduce it. it is, in a word, wearying.

we were going to ask you your thoughts about congress, but we already know, so we'll ask you this question instead. the talk back today, is there a middle ground in dealing with the deficit? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. remember when people were concerned about the price of gas and hybrid commercials tried to capitalize on all that money-saving emotion? >> hey, brian. >> hey. >> what's up with the beard? >> oh, i'm not shaving until i have to put gas in my new civic hybrid. >> okay. >> well, forget about hybrids and miles per hour. the suv is back! alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. gas prices are still high, though. this doesn't make any sense? >> yes, high gas prices, forget about it. no big deal. people are still buying suvs. you look at the 1990s and early 2000s, one in five vehicles sold

was an suv. now one in three vehicles sold is an suv. this is surprising because as you said gas prices of still high and look what happened during the recession. we ran out to buy those small fuel-efficient cars. so why the comeback? the reason is because suvs of today are really different than the models that were sold more than a decade ago. you look at the 1990s, they were huge, these big like mini buses kind of rolling around the streets. they were offroading, gas guzzlers. now they're less truck-like. smaller suvs are now built on car frames and they get pretty good gas mileage and those are the suvs that are selling well, like the chevy equinox and the ford escape. >> so we're just smarter about buying our suvs now. >> reporter: exactly. >> how are the markets doing? >> reporter: looking pretty good. dow up 86, nasdaq up 17. it looks like investors are putting those problems about greece to the side today despite the fact that there's growing

talk that greece will have to drop out of the eu. what's happening the markets a pretty decent housing report showing home construction jumped in april. stocks have been beaten down over the past week or two. the bargain hunters are out scooping up stocks today. carol. >> alison kosik live at the new york stock exchange. a new jersey governor and a mayor from opposite parties come together to make one hilarious video. we'll show you a clip and ask our buzz panel if it proves bipartisanship can exist. from her sister. [ banker ] but someone else bought it before they could get their offer together. we really missed a great opportunity -- dodged a bullet there. [ banker ] so we talked to them about the wells fargo priority buyer preapproval. it lets people know that you are a serious buyer because you've been credit-approved. we got everything in order so that we can move on the next place we found. which was clear on the other side of town. [ male announcer ] wells fargo. with you when you're ready to move.

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just about 30 minutes past the hour. good morning touchlt i'm carol costello. stories we're watching in the newsroom, hyundai looking into that viral video showing a car plowing through city streets at 80 miles per hour and then crashing. this took place in south korea. the son of the elderly couple

driving, he posted this video. he thinks a malfunction caused the car to accelerate. the car maker and south korean government are investigating. george zimmerman had a broken nose, two black eyes and two lacerations on the back of his head after the confrontation that ended with trayvon martin's death. that's based on a medical report from zimmerman's family doctor. zimmerman faces a second-degree murder charge. he acknowledged shooting martin in the back in february but claims it was in self defense. and the defense in john edwards' corruption trial could wrap up its case as early as today, but there are still some big questions. will his older daughter, cate, testify and will the former presidential candidate take the stand? he's accused of using campaign contributions to cover up his affair with rielle hunter. political buzz, rapid fire look at the best political questions of the day. on the left, cnn contributor, maria cardona and on the right, helen ferrar who is the op-ed

editor of diario las americas. republican house speaker john boehner says why wait until the end of the year, why not debate raising the debt limit right now smack in the middle of a nasty election. and yes, there will be no, and i mean no tax raises. >> that's the partisanship -- >> it is a line in the sand because washington has kicked the can down the road, kicked the can down had road, kicked the can down the road and the american people think we're crazy. they're ready for washington to take action. i'm here. i'm ready to do it. let's go. >> okay. so the question, do the american people think lawmakers are crazy? maria? >> i don't think so much crazy as the american people believe that they are self-serving and incompetent. but it's so curious to me that john boehner is the one that's saying they have kicked the can down the road, kicked the can down the road and he's ready to do something. well, where was that attitude

when he actually was on the brink of getting the grand bargain with president obama that included dealing with the deficits, entitlement reform, taxes, revenue, everything, fairness for the american people. he went back to the tea party, they said no way, we don't want you to do a deal with this president and then he came back and said no. americans believe that republicans have been the most intransjent obstructionists. >> helen. >> there's no question americans think congress is ineffective. approval ratings are 9 to 11%. at least john boehner at this point in time is saying let's stand up and talk about something that's really significant and let's do it in an election year and why not. president obama tells us let's look forward, so let's look forward. at the end of the year we're going to reach $16.3 trillion in national debt. we're going to have the bush era tax cuts that are going to be expiring. we're going to be seeing increased costs for health care, so, you know, it's about time we deal with important issues. >> okay. on to the second question. the former president in an

elevator as the doors close, george w. bush said i'm for mitt romney. but he didn't add yay! does this mean we will not see w on the trail, helen? >> probably not. if i had to guess, i would say no. republicans tend to -- ex-republican presidents tend to get involved in charities. now you have younger presidents that are, you know, retiring and so maybe you see them more active. certainly on the democratic side you see president carter, who's not young, but president clinton, who is very involved in politics. republicans tend to like standing back. they had their limelight, they had their moment in time. bush's parents did come out in support of mitt romney. the support will be there, but you know what, i think it's better for ex-presidents to stay out of politics. >> maria. >> i agree with helen in that i don't think you're going to be seeing w on the trail for three reasons. the first one, he's clearly not enamored of mitt romney and we

would need an hour for me to say the reasons why. secondly, he has been out of the limelight. i don't think he has really ever liked the limelight. and thirdly, i think it's because, frankly, the romney campaign wouldn't want him there. why? because mitt romney is about to embrace the same exact policies that george w. bush embraced and implemented that were the ones who took us over this fiscal cliff to begin with. >> okay. time for our buzzer beater. 20 seconds on the clock. new jersey governor chris christie and newark mayor cory booker starred in a video spoof to the delight of local reporters. as you know, booker recently rescued his neighbor from a burning building and christie did not. >> governor. >> how are you doing? you guys got any problems, like a fire anywhere, people trapped? >> no. >> like a bad automobile accident where you need me to help some folks? >> nothing like that. >> maybe a cat in a tree? >> no, i think we're all set here. >> trooper, what have we got?

>> mayor, thank you for coming. there's a two-alarm fire down on state street. there's a car broken down and, yes, a little girl has lost her cat in a tree. >> trooper, as you were. governor, i've got this. >> booker! >> what was that? >> oh, hey, steve, hey, listen, i've got to get going. i think we might have a flat tire here. all right. i'll hang up first. goodbye. >> hey, gov, gov, sit tight. i got this. >> booker! >> absolutely. >> governor, stand back! i got, this i got this. >> booker! >> governor romney -- >> i just love how he tebowed the baby. christie is a republican, booker is a democrat and they had fun. is this a sign bipartisanship

isn't dead? >> hopefully. i think washington needs to take a look at that and take some lessons. i will pointing to the ladies of the senate and dana bash did a great piece on this. they have dinner every week and talk about the issues they can agree on and move forward on those issues. so boys in the senate and in congress, take a page from the girls. girls, you rock. >> helen. >> couldn't agree more with maria. it's also easier to be bipartisan when you're not running for re-election. it would be fun to see what would happen when they are running for re-election. it would be more like a scene from "mad men" where every man has to watch his own back. i don't know that we'll be seeing seinfeld when it comes to re-election time in new jersey. >> booker! they're great actors. >> that was great. that was hilarious. >> maria and helen, thanks for playing with us today. >> thank you. >> thanks, carol. tom cruise rocks a new look for his musical movie "rock of ages." yeah, that's tom cruise.

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kids moving before school. >> when i was in school, we had p.e., we had physical education. a lot of schools have eliminated that so these kids are in school with no sort of physical activity and also this country has an obesity problem, especially with kids, and our academic performances have gone down in kids. so, you know, the emphasis why it's so great is it's not only to attack the health and the obesity problem but increase the academic performance. >> the name of the program is what moves you and it stresses the need for physical activity among middle school students. tom cruise gets candid about scientology while rocking an edgy new look. a.j. hammer has details have a revealing interview. so what did tom say, a.j.? >> well, pretty much that life is good, and why not. first off, we really have to

take a look at these pictures from "w" magazine. it's tom cruise in character for his new film "rock of ages." look at that, not the tom cruise you know. this is an adaptation of the broadway show. cruise plays stacy jacks a fading rock god from the 1980s. the film is scheduled to be released next month. cruise is getting a lot of attention for this in-depth interview he gave to "playboy" magazine. he said he never had plastic surgery and never will. he talks about his involvement with scientology when he says helps him search for ways to become a better man. he looks back at all the trouble he got into in 2006. you may remember he criticized brook shields for using antidepressants. he said he didn't mean things the way they were interpreted and he never wants to tell people how to live their lives. his words, i get how it came across but i don't feel that way and i never have. now, he says that what he has with his wife, katie holmes, is still special. he's been happy ever since he met her. he also talks about how he knows how to fight rumors that people

spread about him, and that is not to bother to refute every one since it doesn't do any good. but he does say, carol, he lets people know there is a line they shouldn't cross if they don't want to wind up dealing with his attorneys. tom cruise known to be litigous in hollywood from time to time. >> yeah, that will work. another story you're following, steve jobs life story is coming to the big screen. i've seen pictures of ashton kutcher. he kind of looks like steve jobs. >> and this is actually pretty promising. aaron sorkin has been tapped to write the story. and to me it seems like a perfect combination of writer and material. jobs, of course, was one of the most influential men in the world for the last 30 years. if you doubt that, you can send an e-mail to my iphone or ipad and sorkin won an academy award for adapting the screenplay for "the social network" so he has shown a real ability to feature

men like jobs. >> a.j. hammer, thank you. you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world? a.j. has it on "showbiz tonight" at 11:00 eastern on hln. do healthy foods have to be more expensive than junk food? no way, according to a dietitian who will join us next. digest. it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste of gourmet gravy every day. fancy feast. the best ingredient is love.

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syracuse assistant basketball coach bernie fine. she is suing espn for libel. her husband is accused of molesting boys decades ago. laurie fine became part of the story when an audio tape surf e surfaced on espn that seemed to suggest she knew about her husband's alleged sexual abuse but a family member says the tape was tampered with and she's suing espn for airing that tape. last hour i talked to her legal team. >> espn published worldwide defamatory statements about laurie fine and they have essentially ruined her life, destroyed her reputation in the syracuse community that she loved and served for so many years. and so for that reason, we are seeking to hold espn accountable for their reprehensible actions. >> espn responded with this statement. quote, we haven't had an opportunity to review the lawsuit, the complaint. we stand by our reporting, end quote. greeks are still pulling their money out of banks out of

fear greece will leave the y eurozone after upcoming elections. they withdrew the equivalent of $900 million monday. new elections will be held june 17th. a national vote left parliament deeply divided and no party able to form a government. kodak now confirming it had weapons grade uranium stored in an underground lab for 30 years, but a kodak spokesman says it was used for experiments and could not have been easily made into a weapon. still, u.s. officials say that's the kind of stuff terrorists would like to get their hands on. kodak turned it over to the government in 2007 but the company is just now talking about it. are foods that are good for you have to be more expensive than other foods that are not? the usda is tackling that question later on today with a briefing comparing food prices. we're going to do our own comparison right now with a registered dietitian. thank you for being with us.

>> sure. >> so the government is going to compare whether organic fruits and vegetables are more expensive than nonorganic fruits and vegetables and we decided we wanted to get a jump start on that and that's why we invited you. you have a few examples to show us. >> yes. for example, the szucchini, the organic is 50 cents higher per pound than nonorganic. and peppers, even that, 50 cents higher per pound. i mean if you really take into account what you're getting with organic, it has been shown to be higher in nutrient quality. pesticides obviously are lower. and you're also contributing to the health of the environment. you know, the pesticide that's been put -- >> but going back. cucumbers there, $1.99. is that per pound or per cucumber? >> that's per cucumber. >> so $1.99 per cucumber. so that's expensive for one

cucumber, sorry. if you get the nonorganic kind it's 99 cents? >> yes, it is more expensive. and actually cucumbers are amongst the dirty dozen. the usda puts out a list of the highest pesticide contaminated crops and they found there's certain crops that are really high. so if you're going to budget your money in terms of getting organic of certain foods, there are things like celery is particularly high and bell peppers are one of the highest. so those would be ones that you could focus on getting the organic option and maybe not getting everything organic and that can be a way to budget better. >> okay. so bananas, you can get organic bananas which are much more expensive but you take the peelings off and eat the inside of the fruit so does it matter that it's organic or not? >> in that case, you're right, it wouldn't matter as much as, say, celery or bell peppers where you're actually eating the peel and all. with bananas, yeah, you can go with the nonorganic and feel like you're not getting that much in terms of pesticides.

>> i know you said some organic vegetables are higher in nutrients but if you're worried about the pesticides, why not just wash your bell pepper with a brush and wouldn't that solve the problem? why pay twice as much for a bell pepper just because it's organic? >> well, that's a good question because interestingly the usda measures the pesticide level after its been washed so they're not taking it off the field and measuring it, they're washing it and then measuring the pesticide level and finding it to be much higher. >> so it is a good idea in your opinion to buy that organic red pepper. >> it is, i think so. if you can swing it. especially when peppers come into season, they're going to get cheaper. the organic can sometimes even rival the nonorganic. >> so boil it down for us. so is it better overall to buy organic fruits and vegetables as opposed to nonorganic? >> i think so. if your budget can allow it, definitely. especially for those top most

pesticide-laden crops. >> when you say things like that, people that can't afford it, but i'm sorry $1.99 per cucumber is ridiculous. that's ridiculous. so if you can't afford it and you're saying this, that kind of like doesn't encourage people to buy fruits and vegetables. >> well, i do not want to sway anybody against buying fresh produce or any kind of produce. frozen is another option too. but studies find that people who eat the most fresh fruits and vegetables or even frozen fruits and vegetables, those studies are finding that those people have lower disease rates and they're not buying organic. so the studies aren't looking at organic-buying consumers but they're still finding the disease-reducing benefits, the weight control benefits and health benefits. so i don't want to sway anybody from eating fruits and vegetables. >> i'm going to buy nonorganic and just wash them. thanks for coming in. prince harry and prince william are opening up and

talking about what it's like to have a queen for a grandma.

royals dishing about royals. oh, it's true. princes william and harry are now talking about their grand mother, queen elizabeth, as they celebrate her diamond jubilee. max foster has the scoop for us in london. hi, max. >> reporter: yeah, carol, these are big stars now around the world, aren't they? particularly with william's wife

now in the fold, katherine. but this year they're very keen. the story is all about the queen celebrating 60 years on the throne. he was saying how they're very, very close, william and the queen. he wants to pay tribute in whatever way he can so he has granted an interview to a u.s. network, as has harry, talking specifically about the queen, we haven't got much of it yet but this is what we do have. >> she's our grandmother, it's as simple as that. >> as i learned from growing up, hugh don't mess with your grandmother. >> has she friended you on facebook? >> no, she hasn't. has she you? >> hopefully after this interview she will. >> reporter: i can confirm the queen doesn't handle her facebook page. >> you're quitting, she doesn't? >> reporter: there's an army of people on phobfacebook in the

palace. >> it is interesting they're so open talking about their family because you never heard that before. what's changed? >> reporter: william rarely does any interviews and doesn't want to speak about himself particularly. he doesn't want anyone around him telling personal stories and they're all briefed about that. but if it's something he does want to talk about, like the queen and her jubilee year, you can get some access but you're not going to get anything particularly revealing about his character because he's very, very careful about that and that all goes back to the way diana was hounded by the media and he's trying to protect himself, his wife and harry from that ever happening again, so this is purely about the queen. >> max foster reporting live from london. again, next month queen elizabeth celebrates 60 years on the throne. join cnn for all of the pomp and pageantry of her diamond jubilee. that begins sunday morning, june 3rd, at 11:00 eastern and the celebration continues on cnn

tuesday, june 5th. in your daily dose of health news, president obama's administration unveils a new plan to fight alzheimer's. the strategy calls for spending $7.9 million to study an insulin nasal spray treatment and another $16 million to fund a study to help prevent alzheimer's. more than five million americans suffer from alzheimer's-related illnesses. the white house's goal is to be able to treat and prevent alzheimer's by the year 2025. we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the day's question, is there a middle ground in dealing with the deficit? your responses next. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air.

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we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, is there a middle ground in dealing with the deficit? this from jennifer. lines in the sand are supposed to shift as the wind blows. the republican line seems more like a world war i trench warfare. >> lee says both sides need to cut spending big time. only if the government will do this, then consider tax hikes, but not until then. we don't need to give uncle sam money to pay for a ferrari when we can get by with a ford. >> debt ceiling and deficit spending are two