are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. we're out of time. let's send it right to "cnn newsroom" with carol costello. good morning. >> hi, soledad. good morning. happening right now, hailstorm. texas battered after hail the size of baseballs pummels the state. >> it just pummelled. it was unbelievable. >> windows blown out. the middle of june looking like the middle of december with all the ice on the ground. checks in the city.

sarah jessica parker and anna wintour take on roles as obama's fundraisers tonight. the price, $40,000 a plate. is hgtv's "house hunters" a fraud? a blogger on the show claims reality show was anything but. fake houses, made-up storylines. today, the network tells its side of the story. perfect game. a shining moment for matt cain. the pitcher throwing a rare perfect game, retiring all 27 hitters he faced. this morning, the giant is a gem. "cnn newsroom" begins right now. and good morning to you. i'm carol costello. at one time, lance armstrong towered over the cycling world the way babe ruth was adored by baseball fans. but today, armstrong may be better compared to barry bonds. controversial, polarizing, and tainted anew by doping

allegations. the new charges filed by the u.s. anti-doping agency could strip armstrong of one of his seven tour de france victories. and already they are forcing him to the sidelines at his new love, competing in ironman triathal triathalons. joining us now to discuss the case, michael mcmahon, the legal analyst for "sports illustrated." and an associate professor at vermont law school. welcome. >> thank you, carol, for having me. >> armstrong has been down this road before. what makes these charges more serious? >> well, carol, earlier this year, the justice department after a two-year investigation decided to drop its potential charges against armstrong for conspiracy and fraud. a grand jury did not indict him. and i think that's pretty telling, that a grand jury -- it's often said that prosecutors if they want to get an indictment can get one. they didn't get one of armstrong, which would suggest that the evidence perhaps isn't as strong as the u.s. anti-doping agency has made it out to be.

but that's a different standard with criminal charges. the u.s. aspect doping agency is not a criminal entity. it's a nonprofit organization. but it believes that armstrong has doped. and its evidence is what it considers to be fairly persuasive. and we'll find out how strong it is. armstrong will have until june 29 to respond. and then a hearing will likely be in november. >> ok. so why can't he compete in these ironman competitions? >> so, carol, that's one of the rules. once somebody is charged, they lose their eligibility to participate in certain competitions. he's going to argue, of course, that's unfair. he tweeted out that it's unconstitutional. but at this point, those are the rules and he has to abide by them. >> so when all is said and done, lance armstrong has been down this road so many times before. when all is said and done, what do you think will happen? >> well, in many cases where the u.s. anti-doping agency has charged someone, the penalty isn't as severe as a lifetime ban or taking every title away. it's usually much more modest than that.

but i think armstrong is somebody who has the financial wherewithal and the motivation to really challenge these charges. he will argue that they're unfair, that they're untrue, and he has the wherewithal -- we saw it earlier this year. if you're a sports defendant and you have a good deal of resources, you can challenge things. barry bonds, roger clemens. and the risks for him maybe aren't as substantial. he hasn't been charged with a crime. this is really only a civil infraction from a nonprofit organization that goes at whether or not he can have medals and whether he can participate as a triathlete. so i suspect he'll argue vigorously. whether or not it will turn out to be successful remains to be seen. but i think his motivation is to say his reputation is what counts most to him. >> absolutely. michael, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. today, president obama and mitt romney are duking it out in the battle ground state of ohio. at separate rallies, they'll try to sell voters their vision for the economy. obama is in democratic heavy cleveland. romney is in republican heavy

cincinnati. this is the first time this election cycle both candidates are set to speak at the same -- in the same state at the same time on the same day. obama's expected talking points, he'll say the economy grows from the middle class up, not from the top down. he wants to focus on education, energy, and infrastructure. romney outlined his economic vision during a call with reporters. he plans to eliminate many federal government programs, approve the keystone pipeline, and repeal obama's health care law. also, president obama heads to new york later today for a fund raiser dinner co-hosted by sarah jessica parker and anna wintour, the editor of "vogue" magazine. $40,000 per person to attend the dinner at parker's home. critics say it makes the president look out of touch. >> i'm glad the president is going to be with anna wintour. because if there's two things the american people relate to, it's the devil and prada. [ laughter ]

>> later tonight, the president goes to another manhattan fundraiser where mariah carey will sing. ♪ why you so obsessed with me ♪ boy i want to know >> this one is co-hosted by newark mayor cory booker. one reason the president is doing so many celebrity fundraisers, he's trying to compete with gop super pacs that have been outraising his campaign. now we want to show you some amazing video out of dallas. take a look. looks like a pretty scene, right? but not really. underneath that eerie fog is a blanket of hail. for nearly 30 minutes, three waves of storms dumped massive hail. some of that hail was the size of baseballs. >> it went for at least 20 minutes. it just pummelled. it was unbelievable. and the rain, there was so much rain. it was like being in a disaster movie. >> it sounded like the house was exploding. >> literally.

>> we were just over and over and over again. you can look at the roof and see a thousand explosions. >> today people are tallying the damage and they are counting their blessings too. jeff ray is a meteorologist at cnn's affiliate kvtv. and he is joining us from dallas. how unusual is this? >> well, carol, to put it in perspective, the most expensive hailstorm in the history of america happened in the dallas ft. worth area in 1995. and then in 2003, there was a hailstorm that was just a little under $1 billion. and that one happened, you know, about five or six years ago. and now we have this one last night. so what happened, you were kind of giving the overview there, we had three storm cells move over dallas county and the surrounding area and they were moving really slow. i'm in lakewood, which is about three miles from downtown dallas. this is a shopping area.:o and every parking space around 6:30 was full.

so after 10 minutes of hail falling, and again, like some the size of softballs even, everybody walked out onto the ice to find their cars looking like this. and all of the cars were damaged like this. now this car isn't totalled. it's maybe $10,000, $15,000 worth of damage. and this is just in one square mile where every car looked like this. we are talking about several square miles across dallas county were pummelled. it's roofs, sky lights, signs. the costliest storm ever was $1.1 billion. and we won't know for months how much this storm cost. but i suspect it's going to number that category. it's going to be a lot of cleanup work around here, carol. and it's going to take months. >> well, i hope that's not your car. that's unbelievable. >> no, it's not. but they are waiting for the tow truck to come get it. they think that's the last they'll ever see of this one.

>> i think they're probably right about that. jeff ray, thank you so much for joining us. >> you're welcome. what a night for san francisco giants pitcher matt cain. cain threw a perfect game against houston. the giants won 10-0. this is the second perfect game of the season. the 22nd in major league history. >> it's starting to settle in right now a little bit. i'm going to celebrate with the guys in the clubhouse and enjoy it for a second. that was something that -- obviously, never, ever going to forget it. but it was -- it was unbelievable from the beginning. >> it was. cain had flirted with perfection earlier this season throwing a one-hitter in the giants home opener. we will have more highlights from this perfect game coming up in sports. she went from college law student to being verbally bashed by rush limbaugh.

>> who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex. what does that make her? it makes her a slut, right? >> well, now sandra fluke is endorsing a presidential candidate. guess who? with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno.

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12 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now, lance armstrong is firing back at the u.s. anti-doping agency's investigation of his alleged doping. armstrong accuses the agency of dredging up discredited allegations to strip him of his seven tour de france titles. because of the investigation, armstrong is banned from competing in an ironman competition this month. it is official. rhode island rolls back penalties for small amounts of marijuana. the governor signed legislation making rhode island the 15th state to decriminalize recreational use of marijuana. in money news, steven tyler of aerosmith is showing off his new $1.1 million car. it's one of the world's fastest street legal cars. we're talking about 275 miles per hour. tyler had it specially made to

his liking and plans to test it on some runways with permission, of course. some of yosemite's most popular lodges will be closed because bold bouulders have bee falling and it's dangerous for people to stay in those lodges. if you want to live longer, move to manhattan. it has one of the longest life expectancies in the nation. 82 years of age. that's the average. that's according to researchers at the university of washington. they credit new york city's aggressive public health campaign and lower homicide rate. the woman who became the face of the fight over whether insurance plans should cover contraceptives say she is voting for barack obama. sandra fluke, a georgetown university law graduate, says she was initially denied a chance to testify before congress. after she spoke, she was verbally attacked by

conservatives like rush limbaugh. >> what does it say about the college co-ed susan fluke who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? what does that make her? it makes her a slut, right? >> sandra fluke is an advocate for women in the mi lineal generation and is joining us live from new york. >> good morning. >> when you hear that stuff from rush limbaugh today, what goes through your mind? >> the same thing that went through my mind when i heard it earlier. just that it's an attempt to silence women, to take them out of the conversation. but, you know, as you introduced, i am here today to talk about the president and why i'm voting for him for re-election. and why his policies are so important to young women like me. >> you were a georgetown student. now you're a full-blown political activist.

and you wrote this op-ed for cnn.com. you endorsed the president. do you think people will take your endorsement seriously? >> well, i think that they can take it for what it's worth. i have looked very closely at these policies. and i take very seriously anything that i take a position on. that's actually why i waited until now to endorse anyone in this presidential election. i felt that a lot of people were looking to me for my opinion. following these controversies. and i wanted to remain nonpartisan and specifically look at which policies i could support. but i have just concluded that governor romney must not be looking for the vote of people like me because he's not taking a stand on issues that are really important to me. issues like the paycheck fairness act or, you know, so many other things that i'm concerned about. >> well, by the same token, mitt romney's favorability rating among women is rising.

and if he doesn't care about these things that you're talking about, why do you suppose that is? >> i think that he's recently been selected as the republican nominee. and there's inevitably a consolidation around a nominee when that occurs, and that's what we're seeing. that said, for months now we have seen the president having a considerable lead among women. and that's because they know that he is a strong leader for the policies that we care about. policies like affordable access to education. in terms of student loan rates. and policies like the paycheck fairness act, the violence against women act. >> but when you look at the unemployment figures for young people, they are pretty abysmal. why should young people, the millenial generation, enthusiastically support this president? >> actually, i saw something on abc recently that things are increasingly -- that this is the best time for employment opportunities for young college graduates since this recession started. and i think that the difference

between president obama and governor romney is both of them are very focused on improving the economy for all of us, but president obama is focused on improving it for all of us, not just for the wealthy few, and making sure that we have the rights and protections that we need in those jobs and in that workplace. >> i'm not sure that many college students who have just graduated would agree that the employment picture is looking any brighter. >> the ones i have spoken to do actually. >> really if what do they say? are they finding jobs? the college students that we talk with are having a difficult time. >> well, i have talked with lots of folks who i graduated with in terms of law school graduates. this is the first year that things are looking up for them and increasing rates. and i am hearing that from graduates across the country. >> although i must say that graduating from georgetown might have a certain bit of cache and you can find a job easier because you went to such a great school. but students who went to public

universities or community colleges are having a terrible time. >> i have talked to students across the country. not just from georgetown. but i think your point is how important investment in education is for folks to be able to find employment when they graduate, and that's why the president's policies around student loans are so critical. he increased pell grants. he doubled that. and he is fighting to keep interest rates low. so for students who are going to any university or college, that's critical for them. >> ok. so your op-ed appears on cnn.com. >> it does. >> ok. thank you so much. sandra fluke joining us live this morning. >> thank you. so what do you think? you can join the conversation on twitter. the handle is @cnnopinion or visit us on facebook or facebook.com/cnnopinion. some good news to tell you about this morning. we showed you these pictures yesterday. on newsroom. they show a toddler thrown from an suv during a high speed chase. this morning, the 18-month-old

girl is out of the hospital and staying with relatives. amazingly, she has only bumps and bruises. her teenaged parents and friends inside the suv have all been charged in the robbery that started that police chase. sticker shock is not just being felt at the gas pump. it's also on college campuses. why the cost of a four-year degree keeps on climbing. and don't forget if you're heading out the door, take us with you. watch us anytime on your mobile or computer on cnn.com/tv. d them a possum. dad, i think he's dead. probably just playin' possum. sfx: possum hisses there he is. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

if your kid is taking too much time to get that college degree, there's a good reason for that. good reason to tell them to hit the books and hurry. a new report shows that average tuition costs for four years of school, you guessed it, going up and i mean way up. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. so how much? >> here are the harsh numbers, carol. the average tuition at a four-year public university is up 15% from 2008 to 2010. the big reason, state budget cuts. 40% ofo cut their education spending.

states that really stick out, though, are california and georgia. but that's not where we saw the biggest individual increases. the big winner there is the university of ft. lauderdale in florida. that's a private school. and tuition there jumped 160%. the biggest public school increase was the university of the district of columbia. tuition there almost doubled. you know what, carol? it looks like students are being priced right out of the ballpark. >> there's got to be a bargain someplace out there. tell me there is. >> ok. get your pencil and paper there. because believe it or not, three schools are there with tuition under $1,000. there's hask el indian nations university located in kansas. denay college. and then berea college in kentucky. that is the cheapest private school. but listen to this. if you want a bargain in terms of the quality of education you can get for the money you can pay, u.s. news and world report says you've got to go with the big boys. look at their top five value

schools. you've heard of harvard, yale, and princeton. lots of financial aid at those schools. most students pay 70% off the sticker price. it's definitely a bargain. but you know what the catch is? >> you can't get in. >> you've got to be accepted. you've got to be smart enough. >> all right. >> there's always a catch, carol. >> i know. it's true. allison sos kosik, thank you so much. tonight it's a new york shindig at sarah jessica parkariparke parker's home. and getting in will cost you big bucks. my cut hurt! mine hurt more! mine stopped hurting faster... [ female announcer ] neosporin® plus pain relief starts relieving pain faster and kills more types of infectious bacteria. neosporin® plus pain relief. for a two dollar coupon, visit neosporin.com.

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good morning to you. i'm carol costello. just about 30 minutes past the hour. stories we're watching right now in the newsroom, lance armstrong fighting back at the u.s. anti-doping agency's investigation of alleged doping. armstrong accuses the agency of

dredging up discredited allegations. because of the investigation, armstrong has been banned from competing in an ironman competition this month. also this morning, concerns about problems in a cdc building which houses dangers like anthrax and monkey pox. "usa today" uncovered internal documents which detail ventilation problems in one of the bioterror labs at the centers for disease control. the cdc in atlanta says no one has been infected but the emails show even expert employees are worried about their risk of exposure. violent turbulence aboard a united airlines flight forced an emergency landing and injured five people badly enough to be taken to the hospital. the flight from houston to new york was fine until bone-jarring turbulence struck without warning. >> people who weren't buckled in or the flight attendants who were up getting ready to start service. so they flew up and several people flew up and hit the ceiling of the plane and immediately were slammed down to the floor of the plane.

i heard both the pilot and the flight attendant say they had been flying 20 to 30 years and had never seen anything like what they saw today. >> >> the plane landed quickly after in lake charles, louisiana. an emt happened to be aboard and helped out with those injured. you could call it checks in the city. a big obama fundraiser takes place tonight in new york's swanky west village. hosting the party, sarah jessica parker and "vogue" maven and editor anna wintour. conservatives are calling the high-priced party an effort to rally the peasantry. the republican national committee is snickering with a new ad attacking the event. >> hi. i'm anna wintour. and i'm so lucky in my work that i'm able to meet some of the most incredible women in the world. women like sarah jessica parker and michelle obama. these two wonderful women and i are hosting a dinner along with the president in new york city to benefit the obama campaign. >> ok. so let's talk about this.

cnn contributors roland martin and john avalon on here. >> what up, carol? >> well, here's my first question. can president obama really make the point that mitt romney is out of touch? roland? >> who cares? are we somehow shocked that there are fundraisers with people who are either celebrities or folks with lots of money? no. not shocked at all. plus, you know what, i am so sick of this regular guy narrative. i don't want a regular guy president. i don't want a regular woman president. i want somebody extraordinary. we need to stop thinking that these folks are just like us. they are not. and they'll never be just like the average american out here. >> ok. john, why do they keep saying they are just like us? >> roland, look, if mitt romney was hosting a fundraiser with anna wintour you'd be teeing off on it talking about -- >> actually, i wouldn't, john, because i don't care. i don't. seriously, i don't. >> it's ridiculous.

i'm shocked by how dumb this is. because really, how this gets out of the development stage is a real question. here is a campaign that knows it needs to focus on saying the president is fighting for the middle class. and you're doing a fundraiser and promoting it with anna wintour? who's got -- radiates nothing but vague distaste for most middle class americans? sarah jessica parker may have demographic appeal, but anna wintour is really elite and out of touch and counters the campaign's overall message. >> what's the difference between anna wintour and george clooney hosting a fundraiser? what's the difference between steven spielberg or spike lee hosting a fundraiser? >> what about donald trump and mitt romney? >> come on. duh. >> i think what it is, people at home, people in the middle of america, whether they are middle class or mid-america, know who george clooney is and they like him. they know steven spielberg and admire his work.

anna wintour is more "devil wears prada" than anything people can participate in or connect to. and also given the fact that the obama campaign, and the administration was using donald trump as shorthand for absurd fundraisers, this just takes away that argument because it gives republicans an equal and opposite argument to make. >> no, it doesn't. >> let's pause for just a second. i mean, both candidates do this stuff. and then say, i'm a regular guy. kathleen parker had an interesting column in "the washington post" about being ordinary. she wrote, quote, as a political concept, the ordinary american has become something of a cartoon character, an undereducated, overweight bloke who holds smarty pants elites in contempt. in other words, we know who we are, and we are sure they don't know who we are, so why bother? >> precisely. because it is a ridiculous narrative. for instance, in 2008, it was all this hullabaloo over, oh, president obama, look what the score he bowled.

maybe he doesn't like bowling, ok? deal with it. senator hillary clinton. can she knock down some shots? well, guess what, i don't drink so who cares. these are the most trivial discussions. i don't care if it's anna wintour. there are going to be celebrities, hedge fund people, wall street people. there are going to be all kinds of people hosting fundraisers. so just stop this ridiculous narrative of the regular guy. they are not regular. >> ok, john. fight back. >> hold on. >> yeah. there is an important point. the american people are smart, and the condescending attitude that we are ordinary americans who are somehow other i think really does drive a wedge in our civic life. i agree. look, most american it's ewe don't want to go to an ordinary barber or ordinary dentist or restaurant. everyone wants to consort with people who are extraordinary in their own way. but the key here is -- and certainly politicians who sit around wondering how they can pretend to be something other than they are, mitt romney pretending to be a man of the people, that's not going to work

because it's not who he is. what we want is for politicians to respect us enough to be authentic. and you'll find if politicians take that risk, people respond. but let's -- >> they are all -- >> but to spend fundraisers with anna wintour spends a message of relatability that doesn't fly because it isn't true. >> we'll have to leave it there. >> there goes your ticket to the next fashion show, john. >> we'll have to leave it there. thanks for the conversation. i enjoyed it. roland martin and john avlov. >> we'll see him in "vogue" next time. >> he deserves to be. he can strut his stuff on the runway. wow. >> work it, john. work it. >> yeah. so rumors are flying that the hgtv series "house hunters" is completely staged. why the show's producers aren't exactly denying it.

producers of hgtv's hit show

"house hunters" aren't exactly denying that part of the show is staged. that's after one of the feature the home buyers wrote a blog online saying that parts of her story were completely fabricated. aj hammer is live in new york to tell us more. and does hgtv just not care? because they are not really denying the blog. >> well, i'll explain it to you. there's a reason why they do the show the way they do, carol. millions of people watch the show. myself included. some people who watch it say they are completely addicted, and there are a lot of fans who seem pretty upset about this news. these posts by bobby jenson from san antonio reveal that her house search, which was featured back in 2006, was mostly staged. she actually revealed that some of the houses she checked out for the show weren't even on the market at the time. here's some of what she wrote on her blog. the ones we looked at weren't even for sale. they were just our two friend's houses who were nice enough to madly clean for days in preparation for the cameras. and she says the whole storyline of their move was fabricated.

shooting didn't actually start until after they had already closed on their new house. now let me get to the network's explanation, which has basically been, we do do some staging. they tell "showbiz tonight" things move so quickly in real estate sales they have to go back and revisit some of the homes that the family has seen to capture what they call their authentic reactions. and they claim that because the stakes are so high, the homeowners seem to always find themselves right back in that emotional moment when they are seeing the house they end up buying or the ones that they are looking at. >> i get that. >> and you're getting real reactions. >> but what about the house that wasn't even for sale? >> well, that's a little strange. i don't understand that. and i sort of -- from a television production standpoint i understand why they have to do it the way they do it because of the way real estate works. but they do say this, and i agree as a viewer of the show. showcasing three homes allows viewers to play along. it is part of the joy of the viewing experience. i actually watched the show last night. i'm a big fan. and it did change the way i

watched the show. but i still found it entertaining. and even knowing this isn't happening in real time, i still want to know which did they choose. i picked one. and it wasn't the one that they chose. so this is the nature of reality tv. >> sucker. >> the curtain is getting pulled back. >> i guess so. tell us about "weeds" because it's going away. >> yeah. and this is sad for me because this is one of my favorite shows of all time. showtime has announced the drug dealing end on "weeds." this was one of the first shows that showtime premiered truly in an effort to compete with hbo. the comedy about a pot dealing suburban housewife was really one of the shows that made people take showtime seriously. the final season kicks off july 1. i, carol, will be watching every minute. >> still getting over the spanking picture. ok. thank you. aj hammer. wow. question for you. are younger americans having a

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why more millennial ar if you are 30 or younger, chances are your belief in god may be on the decline. that's according to a survey by the pew research center which shows 68% of millennial say they doubt god's existence. i'm sorry. say they never doubt god's existence. and while that may be a

majority, it's also a 15-point drop from five years ago. pew says more millenials are expressing doubtss about god than at any other time, almost 30%. joining us now the secular student alliance president. welcome. >> thanks for having me, carol. >> just to be clear, you're an atheist and you offer support to students in high schools and colleges nationwide. why do you think we are seeing this shift? >> you know, there have always been doubts among everyone in the population. but right now, the millennial are coming of age at the time of the internet. when they had doubts before, where did they go? to the church where doubts are discouraged. now they have a place to discuss it. online and increasingly on campus with secular student alliances. >> but that doesn't necessarily mean they don't believe in god or won't believe in god in the future. when you're young you do question things.

it's just the nature of a human being. human nature. >> yeah. and we're finding that as they question, the questions are really encouraged and people can explore beliefs fully. they are not going to come to their own conclusions. i think as more and more people can engage with the questions with peers on campus, online, they'll come to the conclusion i can think for myself, maybe i don't need to believe in god to be a good person. and that's really what we are finding. more secular students are coming to campus and internet forums saying and admitting that they don't believe in a god. >> do you really have group -- do you do work within high schools? >> especially recently. high school students are more and more coming to us looking for help because they face specific challenges from their administrators and communities. when they start to question, when they have these doubts, where do they go? and we need to be there protecting them. the equal access act requires the schools to allow them to form groups, and often they

experience pushbacks without help from groups like us. >> some might argue that because you are in high schools you are sortnati indoctrinating student when they are too young to form their own opinions. >> there are tons of groups on high school campuses already for students who are trying to profess a christian faith. we are providing secular students at high schools and college campuses with a safe community of peers. it's not about forcing anybody to be nonreligious. it's giving them a safe place to discuss and live out their values. >> some people accuse organizations like yours of trying to shape the beliefs of young people. and they say that that's dangerous because most religions, most religious people, you know, religion helps you in your life. it's not a bad thing. >> yeah. it's not about forcing anybody to leave their faith.

but i think as more and more students are acting as role models and leaders on their campus and in their communities showing that you can be a good person without believing in god, these groups are doing community service projects, going down to new orleans and rebuilding houses after katrina. one is hosting pizza parties and board game nights with the muslim student association. these are just students who want to be good people but don't happen to believe in god. and we are giving them a place to do that without them feeling they are living a lie. >> jesse, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you so much. for more information, check out secularstudents.org to see where the groups are and what they're doing. >> thanks. spit ball or not? detroit tigers closer jose valverde is getting a close look from major league baseball. what exactly is he doing when he has his glove in front of his face? we'll talk about that in sports.

i've been training for a triathlon with dr. sanjay gupta's fit nation team. the team's lucky enough to have the help of this athletic director named april golatti. she offers tips to run better, run farther, easier. well, she checked out the way i ran and found a few things i did wrong and explained why i was getting those annoying stitches in my side. >> all right. sprint. there's a little bit too much side-to-side motion. all of your movement should be going forward. pretend there's a string running through center of your body and you're kind of pulling yourself up from that string. go ahead. pretend. pulling yourself up by that string. with the arms in general, you want most of the movement to be behind you, as if you were trying to elbow somebody. here, here, here. >> a big problem is i get a stitch in my side.

and i do this and i squeeze my muscle and it hurts. what can i do to get rid of it? >> some of that might be caused from that movement that -- >> washing machine motion. >> washing machine motion when you find yourself with that cramp. ask yourself am i rotating side to side? am i using, you know, those stomach muscles causing that? >> april is so fit. i just don't feel worthy sta standing beside her. but she is helping me a lo. check out my tips with april every thursday morning, all part of the 2012 fit nation triathlon challenge with dr. sanjay gupta. 9:00 a.m. eastern hour of "newsroom." we're following a lot of developments in the next hour of "cnn newsroom." let's check in with dana bash. >> reporter: well, carol, it's sad to say, but this is a headline. we have found bipartisanship in the united states congress. we'll tell you where and what it's all about in the next hour. >> i'm casey wian in los

angeles. the u.s. anti-doping agassi says lance armstrong, the famous cyclist, engaged in a 13-year conspiracy to use and traffic the performance-enhancing drugs. i'll have the latest at the top of the hour. >> i'm barbara starr at the pentagon. today is the army's 237th birthday, but in a few minutes a very unusual secelebration. the tanks will come out, but wait till you see the tanks. we'll have that coming up. >> barbara, you have to tell us. cupcakes. the tanks are made of cupcakes. can't wait to see that. fans of the band kiss, have we got news for you. paul stanley is joining us live in just about 50 minutes. he'll tell us how kiss is still going strong after so many years. we'll ask him about band's upcoming tour and so much more. 50 minutes from now in the "cnn newsroom." ♪

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a perfect night. good for him. >> you know, he's one of baseball's great pitchers, doesn't always get talked about as one of the best in the game, but, man, when you put together a night like matt cain had last nigh, it's fantastic. no walks, no hits, no errors. look at him mowing 'em down against the houston astros. matt cain strikes out 14. that ties sandy koufax for the most strikeouts in a perfect game in modern history as good as his command was. also got a little help from the defense. seventh inning, looks like he's going to lose the perfect game. watch blanco. he's playing right field. he makes that catch like in center field. how does he do that? fantastic play. saves the perfect game. great catch. bruce bochy said he'd never seen a right fielder make a catch like that. don't blame him. final pitch, 125, grounder to third and the giants celebrate. the first perfect game for the franchise ever. you're talking going back over a

hundred years. second perfect game this season. white sox' phil um ber did it earlier this year. as much as it's great to get hugs from your teammates, it's even better from your wife. chelsea coming down after the game. the home plate umpire, ted barrett, called balls and strikes, also the home plate umpire for another perfect game in 1999. the only ump ever to call two perfect games. great night for matt cain and the san francisco giants. >> i love watching the celebration. >> amazing night when you think you have, what, 21 other times ever in major league baseball history. fantastic. >> we have to talk about -- speaking of pitchers. >> matt cain did it all the right way. is jose valverde doing it to wrong way? espn is reporting ha major league baseball has reviewed video of a pitch valverde made in sunday's game against cincinnati. the video, which has gone viral, shows valverde putting his glove with the ball in it to his moud

mouth. valverde denies it was a spitball, denies he did anything wrong. >> he's been doing -- he licks his hand, too, and that was another kind of bone of contention. >> this has gone on for as long as baseball's been and. are pitchers trying to gain that extra advantage, you know, are there ways to scruff this -- scratch the ball a little to get something extra on there. we'll see. >> how would you actually prove it? they'll watch the video over and over? >> is the ball going to float differently? i don't know. i don't want to take up too much time. one time a guy had something under his hat. it went flying and someone caught it and hey, what's that over there. we'll see if valverde gets caught or not. >> what do you mean gets caught? >> innocent until proven guilty. >> thank you very much. next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts right now. good morning to you. i'm carol costello. just ahead in the "newsroom."

oh, that is hail pounding parts of texas, causing some to run for cover. this morning's storm victims are surveying the damage. this country's most decorated cyclist could be stripped of all seven of his tour de france victories. lance armstrong facing even more doping allegations. he's already been suspended from an upcoming event. it's a birthday bash for the united states army today. what better way to celebrate than with this? we'll take you live to the pentagon for an up-close look at this cupcake tank. we start with this. he's an iconic rocker who's been in the musical spot light for almost 40 years. ♪ okay. so we're not starting with this. we're teasing this. paul stanley explains kiss' success and what's next for the legendary rock 'n' roll band. he's coming up live in the

"newsroom" to answer all of our questions. at one time lance armstrong towered over the cycling world the way babe ruth is adored by baseball fans. today armstrong may be better compared to barry bonds. controversial, polarizing, and tainted by doping allegations. the new charges filed by the u.s. anti-doping agency could strip armstrong of his seven tour de france victories. and already it's forcing him to the sidelines of his new love, competing in ironman triathlons. casey wian is following these latest developments from los angeles. how serious are these charges? >> well, they're very serious, carol. u.s. anti-doping agency says that lance armstrong and several others, including some of his doctors, engaged in a conspiracy over 13 years to actually use performance-enhancing drugs and to traffic in performance-enhancing drugs. the allegations also detail the efforts to which they -- some

people claim that lance armstrong was able to cover up his use of performance-enhancing drugs while he was winning seven tour de france championships. now, armstrong released a statement in response to these allegations, and here's what he had to say -- unlike many of my accusers, i have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests, and never failed one. that usa da ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about usada, its lack of fairness, and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence. we should point out according to the usada letter sent to lance armstrong's attorneys and others involved in these allegations, these accusers of lance armstrong actually cooperated in this investigation, talked about their history of doping, talked

about doping in cycling. but lance armstrong actually refused to cooperate, would not talk to the organization. so that's why he appears to be facing these charges and these other self-admitted performance-enhancing drug users in the cycling world are not, carol. >> casey wian reporting for us this morning. on to politics now. president obama and mitt romney will be courting votes in the same state today. that would be the battleground state of ohio. president obama will be in cleveland, while mitt romney campaigns in cincinnati. both will be talking about the economy and roughly the same time. you can bet each knows just how important ohio is to becoming the next president. the winner gets 18 electoral votes but ohio is the measuring stick of the nation. case in point, the winner of ohio has gone on to win the last 12 presidential elections. jim acosta is in cincinnati this morning. so i would assume the economy will be the focus today. >> reporter: carol.

and, you know, these two candidates are going to be going right at each other. we've already seen a preview of that in the last 24 hours with the president and mitt romney really taking it to each other on this issue of the economy. you can see just behind me over my shoulder mitt romney has a couple of banners up that read "putting jobs first." he is, as they like to say in campaign politics -- they are bracketing each other as we speak, trying to sort of get the jump on the other in the hours and days before this event that is happening here in cincinnati later on this afternoon. the president's event up in cleveland as you mentioned. and already the romney campaign has an ad out trying to once again exploit what the president said last friday when he said the private sector is doing fine. it's part of the romney economic message. he's saying he's going to get the economy going again. here's a taste of that ad that the romney campaign put out earlier this morning.

>> the private sector is doing fine. the private sector is doing fine. >> reporter: you can bet, carol, they'll be running those six words from the president here on out. that is definitely part of the romney campaign strategy. i will tell you, though, that mitt romney was in washington yesterday, where he met with some of the nation's top ceos at the business roundtable where he started to lay out his economic vision should he be elected president. he's talking about some pretty dramatic cuts when it comes to the federal government. he wants to get federal worker pay in line with pay that is out in the private sector he says. he once again went after the president's health care law saying he will start repealing that on day one of his administration. and he said yesterday that he can get the budget balanced in

next 8 to 10 years if he's elected president, of course gets a second term. so mitt romney is starting to lay that out. the president, as you know, has been doing this the last couple days, as well, taking it to the republicans. just the other night at a fund raiser in baltimore going after the republicans saying, hey, wait a minute, there was a republican president who was in the white house before me running up the deficit. he's accusing the republicans of running up the dinner tab and then trying to bole the check. i assume that the president will be going back to that message up in cleveland later today. it will be interesting to watch these two go head to head right around the same time, 1:45 or so this afternoon, carol. >> we'll be listen. jim acosta live in cincinnati. you heard jim mention it. while obama is in cleveland he'll be fighting romney's economic plan and outlining a plan of his own. mr. obama's expected talking points according to a campaign official, the president will say the economy grows from the middle class up, not from the top down. he wants to focus on education, energy, and infrastructure, and

that the president will head to new york city for a fund-raiser dinner co-hosted by sarah jessica parker and anna winter, editor of "vogue." $30,000 per plate. and obama goes to another manhattan fund-raiser where mariah carey will sing. ♪ this one is co-hosted by newark mayor corey booker. one reason the president is doing so many celebrity fund-raisers, he's trying to compete with gop super pacs that have been outraising him. severe weather is pretty common this time of year, but have you ever seen anything like this? that's hail shredding trees, shattering windows across dallas yesterday. three waves of storms dumped massive amounts of hail, some the size of baseballs. >> it went for at least 20

minutes. it just pummeled. it was unbelievable. and the rain, there was so much rain. it was like -- it was like being in a disaster movie. >> it sounded like the house was exploding. >> literally. >> just -- just over and over and over again. i mean, you can look at roof and see. a thousand explosions. >> wow. today people are tallying the damage and counting their blessings, too. last hour i talked to dallas meteorologist jeff ray. he's with cnn affiliate ktvt. >> reporter: the most expensive hailstorm in the history of america happened in the dallas-ft. worth area in 1995. and then in 2003, there was a hailstorm that was just a little under a billion dollars, and that one happens, you know, about five or six years ago. and now we have this one last night. so what happened, the overview there, we had three storm cells move over dallas county and the surrounding area, and they were moving really slow. i'm standing in lakewood, which is about three miles from

downtown dallas. this is a shopping area. and every parking space around 6:30 was full. so after ten minutes of hail all thing, and, again, like some of the size of softballs even, everybody walked out onto the ice to find their cars looking like this. and all the cars were damaged like this. now, this car isn't totaled. it's maybe $10,000, $15,000 worth of damage. and this is just the one square mile where every car looks like this. we're talking about several square miles across dallas county were just pummeled. it's not just cars. it's roofs, it's skylights, signs. there's so much damage around there. that costliest storm ever, that was $1.1 billion, and we won't know for months how much this storm cost, but i suspect it's going to be in that category. it's going to be a lot of cleanup work around here, carol, and it's going to take months. >> i bet. it is one of the oldst branchest of the u.s. military, so what better way for the army

to celebrate its 237th anniversary than with a life-sized tank made of cupcakes? barbara starr, you just don't think of army, cupcakes. it's weird. cute. weird. >> reporter: hey, carol. cute but weird, i'm not sure that's what the army had in mind, but it actually works today. let me get it out of the way. i've covered a lot of military operations in my time, but this one takes the cake. let me just get that out of the way. this is, inform, the army's 237th birthday, and a company here in washington called georgetown cupcake has made this tank in celebration and donated it to the army. you're looking at 5,000 cupcakes, 200 pounds of camouflage frosting, about $10,000 worth of cupcakes being donated to the u.s. army. this is georgetown cupcake, and as you know they have that tv show "d.c. cupcake" on the tlc

channel. it's a company that has donated a lot to the troops overseas. we've been there in afghanistan when their cupcakes have arrived. so today this is a bit of a lighter note in celebration of the army's 237th birthday. but a note of realism, you can see it will gunner is going to get in in a little while, and into the turn, and i kid you not, carol, they are going to fire cupcakes out the top of this thing. they've already testified a few. cute but weird. but, you know, it's been a long decade-plus for the u.s. army and for the u.s. military. so i don't think anybody really begrudges them having a bit of a smile today. and it's another opportunity, genuinely, for everyone to say thank you to all the troops and their families who serve. carol? >> absolutely. so do the cupcakes come out intact? i mean, can you catch them and then just eat them? >> reporter: well, i think we

have at least one fall off here already. there's going to be about another -- this is 5,000 cupcakes. there's going to be about another 1,500 that are going to show up that they'll pass out to the many people already gathered here. and you might want to know, what are the flavors? salted carmel. red velvet. peanut butter fudge, lara funnel, and vanilla butter cream. so i figure about two hours from now the entire pentagon is going to be on a sugar high. carol? >> so hyperactive. barbara starr, thanks so much for sharing and making us smile this morning. >> reporter: you bet. many americans are fed up with congress for not working together. hey, maybe they can use that tank and fire up some cupcakes at them. anyway, some democrats and republicans have finally found some common ground on a farm bill.

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and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ checking our top stories at 16 minutes past the hour, retired cycling legend lance armstrong sidelined from his new passion, ironman triathlons. the group overseeing those competitions banned him while

he's under investigation for doping. the charges from the u.s. anti-doping agency could strip armstrong of his seven tour de france victories. the judge in the jerry sandusky trial says the prosecution could wrap up its case by tomorrow, noting that things are moving along more quickly than anticipated. that news comes as jurors heard another round of graphic testimony from three alleged victims and a penn state janitor. sandusky has pleaded not guilty to 52 counts of sex abuse. in money news, a new report by realtytrac says foreclosures in the united states went up 9% last month. that's more than 200,000 properties. georgia, arizona, nevada, and california had the highest foreclosure rates. final preps are in place for tomorrow's death-defying high-wire walk across niagara fal falls. nik wallenda will be the first daredevil in more than 100 years to attempt the feat. he is the seventh generation of the flying wallendas.

a lot of people are fed up with congress for not working together to get the country's fiscal house in order. well, senators are working together on something -- a farm bill, one that might possibly save you some money. dana bash has more. >> reporter: hans schmidt is a third-generation farmer, and ever since he can remember he's gotten cash payments from the federal government to help manage the risk of farming. how much? >> about $35,000 a year. >> reporter: that's right. he gets $35,000 a year even in good times when he doesn't need it. but for schmidt and over a million farmers across the country that could come to a scree screeching halt. >> welcome to our home. >> thank you. >> reporter: these two senators want to end those payments to farmers in place since the great depression. democrat and republican sat at this committee table and made the decision together. >> all the time, any state. why can't you folks get along

back there and do something instead of spinning your wheels and pointing fingers? >> reporter: bipartisanship we rarely see these days. their farm bill cuts $23.6 billion in spending. >> almost $24 billion. >> right. >> $23.6 billion to the deficit. >> reporter: a significant savings for taxpayers, but watchdog groups warm the savings may not last. why? most of the spending cuts come from eliminating direct cash payments. >> we're not going to pay for subsidies if you don't need them, but farming is the most risky business in the world. >> reporter: in place of checks from the government, there are new federal subsidies for crop insurance, and some worry in bad crop years the cost to taxpayers could explode. senators scoff at that. >> these are real cults. crop insurance makes sense. it's like any other insurance. it's there when you have a loss. >> reporter: at the farm, schmidt says he's okay with losing checks from uncle sam he doesn't always need. >> i'd be happy to give up those

subsidies if it's going to help to get our country's fiscal responsibilities back in order. >> reporter: but he calls new government subsidies for crop insurance critical since farming is so unpredictable. even now, a good year, problems. this idle combine was supposed to be cutting wheat when we visited. >> we were hoping we'd be combine today but the moisture on the grain is too high. >> reporter: another criticism of the crime bill -- pork in the form of popcorn. popcorn growers slipped in a provision making sure they, too, get government help with crop insurance. here, no apologies. >> i love popcorn, actually. i guess i would call it a specialty crop, and there is demand for it. just go to the movies or go anyplace at home. >> reporter: some ask why farmers with high profits these days need government help at all. the weather did allow us to bale hay with hans schmidt. he gave us an answer -- farmers need to eat. >> we all have to eat.

>> reporter: badana bash, maryland. >> she's live in washington. this bill has sparked controversy i know among some democrats because some of this farm bill cuts come from food stamps. tell us about that. >> reporter: that's right. $4.5 billion comes -- of cuts come out of the food stamp program, and some democrats especially keirsten gillibrand of new york has made passionate speeches on the senate floor saying you have to restore those cuts. i've asked both senators, but particularly the democrat, debbie stabenow, about that, and obviously from her perspective she's from michigan. the last thing she wants to take money out of the hands who need it most from a state that is really, really suffering like michigan. she insists that what they have cut is basically waste, fraud, and abuse, and in this particular case it's effectively in a form abuse of what these food stamps are supposed to be

doing. she insists it is not going to take food, i should say, out of the hands of people who really need it. >> dana bash live in washington for us. in sweden, the country, sweden, every day -- an everyday citizen becomes the twitter voice for national tourism. but you will not believe some of this things she's tweeting. some we can't show you on television. ♪...

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there's a new survey out that thougshows most americans they to not need to make a lot of money to feel successful. really? >> yeah. you know that six-figure salary you were going to offer me? keep it. i don't need it. >> i wish i had that power. >> me, too. so there's this new survey from career builder that finds that 75% of american workers say, no, they don't need to earn six figures to feel successful. and almost a quarter said they feel successful earning less than $50,000 a year. maybe more surprising in this

survey most of those in the survey say they're happy with how much pay they're getting right now. i'll tell you what, that's a good thing because salaries aren't going up very quickly. half of workers say they haven't had a raise since 2010. a quarter haven't had a raise since 2008, carol. >> i want to know their secret. >> me, too. you know what -- >> i'd like to get my nominal raise each year. >> i know. yay, 1%, 2%. but you know what career builder found? they found out by either looking at these sort of feelings of success by industry, so not such a huge surprise. people who worked in financial services, sales, information technology, they were the most likely to say, yes, we need to earn six figures to feel successful. go to the flip side, people who work in retail and hospitality and manufacturing say they would feel successful earning less than $50,000 a year. you know what it is, ice all about that work/life balance and how much you love your job, right? in some of these occupations, career builder says success means earning a paycheck that's big enough to support your

family and your life outside of the office. carol? >> i'll buy that. i didn't mean to sound ungrateful, because i am. >> me, too. we're just having fun. >> we are. thanks, alison. president bush is popping up in a very unlikely place these days. a hit tv show. and it's not pretty. now the show's producers are issuing an apology. it involves a head on a stick. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

just about 30 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now, the death of a u.s. combat marine has ushered in a grim milestone. a corporal in minnesota is the 2,000th american to die in operation enduring freedom. the prosecution expected to call more witnesses today in the substance abuse case against former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky. jurors wednesday heard graphic testimony from three alleged victims. prosecutors could wrap up their case by friday. and look at this nasty hailstorm that -- oh, god, it absolutely destroyed cars in the dallas area. if you couldn't see it, you could certainly hear it. some of this hail the size of baseballs, shattered people's windshields, left big dents in cars. people said the hail was so loud when it hit the roof it sounded like an explosion.

sxwroo political buzz, your rapid-fire look at the best political topics of the day. john avlon, cnn contributor and senior political columnist for "newsweek" and the daily beast. he's an independent. and a representative from the left, pete dominic. welcome to both of you. >> hello, carol. i love those glasses. >> i'm trying to look studious. >> very nice. got to try that. >> maybe you should. >> i'll get some for you, pete. >> first question. president obama and mitt romney placing big bets on ohio and not just in today's economic speech showdown. this will be the president's ninth trip to ohio since announcing his re-election bid. but mitt romney is not to be outdone. he's taking his bus tour to three towns in ohio this weekend, and he's dropping $838,000 on ads, part of his biggest ad buy of the campaign taking place in ohio.

so the first question, are voters already fatigued in ohio? john. >> if they're tired, they're going to get a lot more tired because there's a lot more of this coming down the pike. you know, carol, there's an old rule of republican politics, no republican candidate wins the white house unless they win ohio. so the focus there is going to be laser like. both campaigns think they've got a good chance of winning it. it's high stakes and folks like your family and mine from ohio are going to be getting a lot of ads, while those of us in new york and california already getting none. >> my aunt nancy says she's already gettinging phone calls. pete? >> i wonder what it's like to be courted. i mean, living in new york, i mean, no one ever begs me for my vote. i think at the end of this campaign president obama and mitt romney are going to almost every, quote, undecided voter's first and last names. maybe mitt romney knows somebody that owns a college football team in ohio to help him out, because that really means a lot

to ohioans, especially in columbus, the buckeyes. i can't imagine what it's like to be there, but like john said, they're going to be very tired by the end of this. they'll want to move to idaho to get away from it. >> all right. on to the second question. mitt romney's campaign is getting a big financial boost from a man who wanted to destroy him in the republican primary. remember this guy? casino magnet sheldon adilson. he kept newt gingrich's mouse white house dream alive, but now he's kicking in $10 million to a super pac supporting mitt romney. it's reviving concerns among some about the role of big money in politics. "washington post" columnist e.j. dion jr. writes in part, "here's a modest proposal -- a small group of billionaires aided perhaps by a few tsuper millionaires should form an alliance to offset the spending of billionaires and other super millionaires. they might call themselves billionaires against billionaire politics." president obama is in new york with that fund-raiser, 40,000 bucks a ticket.

i'm finally getting to the question. politics. we know it's becoming a playground for the wealthy. but is there a way out? pete? >> yes, there's a way out. we have to strike at the root. we have to strike at the system. americans have to understand that the system is rigged for the wealthiest by the wealthiest. i mean, shell don adilson is an interesting story. he literally bankrolled newt gingrich by himself and all this money, carol, in casinos, here, china, everywhere. what's ionic is no religion, it's my understanding, likes gambling. it's certainly against the mormon religion. so mitt romney's going to take $10 million from a guy who made all his money on casinos and gambling. a little hypocritical. mitt romney must care a lot about israel, because that's shell don adelson's top priority. >> yon. >> well, you know what, what blew my mind is once newt gingrich kicked the sugar daddy habit, shell don adelson went

elsewhere. it's rigged on behalf of the rich. no kidding. he should know better than anybody else. we have a problem with too much money in politics. politicians spend a hume amount of time getting money from dinners. it's what the average family of four makes in america. this undercults the idea of one man, one vote, disgraces the idea where it matters how much a person can give and distracts from the real point, which is appealing for a sense of reason and creating a level playing field where all citizens are treated the same by their elected leaders. >> on to the third question. buzzer-beater, 20 seconds each. "game of thrones," in the headline today for a different reason. here's why. take a look. not at her. it's coming up. there it is. did you miss it? take a closer look at that head on a stick. some people say this is the severed head of former president george w. bush. the show's creators are defending its use saying it was not a political statement, that

the head they had to use was whatever head was lying around at the time. hbo just released a statement about this saying we were deeply dismayed to see this and find it unacceptable, disrespectful, and in very bad taste. we are sorry this happened and-it removed from any future dvd production. with the tv show featuring the severed head of a former president and death threat issues with the current president, here's the question? i know what the answer's going to be. have we cross adeleine of decency in politics? pete? >> absolutely. i think president bush was the worst president perhaps in the history of this country, but, you know, this is -- what makes me mad is they missed an amazing opportunity to put the head on the stick of someone that everybody hates. listen, they could have put charlie sheen or donald trump on that stick. it would have been way funnier. this is just divisive, i think. >> john. >> i think pete's offering a suggestion we'll soon take on. i love having the problem of

whatever head is lying around. in all seriousness, somebody thought this was funny on set. here's the problem -- folk who is think this is just a joke, imagine if someone did that to an effigy of president obama. they'd be saying a different tune. what's right is right, what's wrong is wrong, of course this is ugly. have we hit a new low in politics? we crossed that rivera long time ago. >> sadly true. thanks for playing today. >> thank you, carol. >> thanks, carol. get out your makeup. on my journey across america, i found new ways to tell people about saving money. this is bobby. say hello bobby. hello bobby. do you know you could save hundreds on car insurance over the phone, online or at your local geico office? tell us bobby,

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♪ i wanna rock 'n' roll all night and party every day ♪ kiss, the legendary band, is

about to hit the road again. ♪ if you just can't get enough, this is video from the group last time on the road in 2010. their new tour is called "the tour." along for the ride, motley crue. let's talk kiss. this is a band around since the early '70s and it's still so very popular. paul stanley is part of kiss' secret sauce. he's the chief songwriter for kiss, the guitarist, singer, and so much more. welcome, paul. >> carol, it's great to be speaking with you. i love the glasses. i'd love to see you take them off and shake the hair and, you know -- very feisty. >> oh, that made me laugh. okay, so i'll just give you my first question. what is the secret sauce? how is it that after so many years in the band the band is still popular? >> i think we sing abuniversal truths. i think we sing about things that are timeless. we sing about celebrating life.

we sing about freedom. and most importantly, probably, especially in these times of economic turmoil and tension, we give bang for the buck. when you come soo sew us, you know you're going to see something spectacular. and this show will be no exception. it will be the biggest thing we've done. >> what do you mean the biggest thing you've done? how big will it be? and what makes it so bag? this. >> well, we're not known for subtlety, and this time we're pulling out all stops. so i'd have to say it will probably be a no-fly zone above the amphitheaters we're playing. we'll have incredible pyro, incredible lights. you know, when you come to see us, you leave pummeled, and that's the way it should be. you want bad news, you can listen to cnn or any other news outlet or, you know, or read the newspaper. but everybody needs a break. so we're giving a one-night vacation in the town of your choice. >> okay. so in a typical concert, i'm curious about this, as you look out into the audience, how many

fans are long timers, say ten years or greater, versus relative newbies, let's say, become fans within the last ten years? >> well, at this point it's so multigenerational that we find that we have parents or grandparents bringing kids along to the show to kind of go through a rite of passage to experience what they did. it's really something much more of a tribal event than a rock 'n' rolloncerts, you always hav this very demographic specific situation where if you're there you don't want your little brother there, your neighbor there, but with kids, it's almost a big cult. you look across, if you see your father, if you see your neighbor, it's thumbs up because you're all part of this very special group. and i might want to add that on this tour, like on the last one, we give a dollar from every ticket to the wounded warrior care project, which is an amazing organization that rehabilitates and helps veterans

get back into society after serving overseas. >> yeah. that's terrific. i also wondered about this. you've clearly accomplished extraordinary things, not just with kiss but your artwork. it seems when most people think of kiss, they think of gene simmons and his tongue out and his persistent presence in the media. are you comfortable with that given your central ti and your contributions to the band? >> it's an interesting question. we are partner, and part of the dynamics of a special partnership is knowing its limitations. look, gene enjoyed being out there, saying me, me, my, i, i, i, when most of time it was actually we, we, we. and i don't mean french. it's actually -- it's a partnership for better or worse. we split things 50/50. >> is it a friendship, though? you guys best buds? >> i'd say we're family, which

is more important, because friends come and go. as i've very often said before, gene lives about five minutes from me. he lives right down the road, and i can see his ego from my house. >> i have to ask you about politics because gene is not shy when it comes to expressing his political opinions. are you? >> i think there's nothing more embarrassing than seeing people who have become famous in one field such as film or music suddenly feeling that they're in a position to have qualified opinions about anything other than music. and i'm stunned when people will actually take them seriously. and that's not a slight to anybody who's close to me. that's really my astonishment at what i see on television, people being interviewed or asked who they're going to endorse. does it really matter what somebody who has a hit record thinks of the political scene? it's absurd to me. so i --

>> you won't -- are you going to keep it to yourself? >> absolutely. you know, i'm very good at what i do, and i certainly have my own opinions, but to stand up and think that i have some sort of transfusion of knowledge about subjects that are really not that -- i'm not that familiar with, it's embarrassing and it's astonishing to see people given media coverage who don't deserve it. >> paul stanley, it's been great talking with you. and i can't wait till the tour starts. >> come on. take the glasses off and shake the hair. i eel take the glasses off. that's it. that's all i can muster. paul stanley, thank you so much for being with us. >> my pleasure. i'm blushing. let's talk baseball now. san francisco giants pitcher matt cain isn't the only one going into the record books after last nigh's record game. umpire ted barrett gets a page all by himself. do you see it ? there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ?

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49 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories. egypt state tv reporting a stunning bit of news. the country's interim military leaders say they have full legislative control for the nation's highest court declaring the par lam unconstitutional. the court says par lam should be dissolved. egypt has struggled since the mubarak regime was i don't ever thrown in the arab are uprising. a retired texas firefighter who used the stand your ground defense in a deadly shooting has been found guilty of murder. raul rodriguez claimed he called police about a loud party and then he grabbed his gun to confront his neighbor. rodriguez says he was defending himself when he shot hit neighbor and two other people. prosecutors argue he was trigger happy. he faces life in prison. he's a ponzi schemer like bernie madoff but allen stanford may surpass madoff when it comes to jail time. he's scheduled to be sentenced today in a texas court for his own role in fraud.

he faces up to 230 years in prison, about 80 more years than madoff. a moving truck did not stop a group of thieves in romania from trying to rob it. as you can see, two guys pulled up behind that truck, then they jump out, they jump out of their sunroof and pry open the truck's back door. but apparently the would-be thieves did not like what was inside because after opening that door they chosed it and hay got back into their vehicle. and drove away. man: there's a cattle guard, take a right. do you have any idea where you're going ? wherever the wind takes me. this is so off course. nature can surprise you sometimes... next time, you drive. next time, signal your turn. ...that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. 14 clubs. that's what they tell us a legal golf bag can hold.

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the san francisco giants' pitcher matt cain threw a perfect game, first time in the team's history. carlos diaz is here to share the magic. >> put you on the spot. >> okay. >> tell ne the difference between a no-hitter and a perfect game. >> there's no walks in one of them? >> very good. a perfect game is literally perfect. no runs, no hits, no walks, no errors. just 27 up and 27 down. that's exactly what happened last night with matt cain and the san francisco giants. they used to be the new york giants back in the day. was basically, in the 128-year history of this franchise, they have never had a perfect game until last night's gem of a performance. and it was saved in the seventh inning as we showed you before when jordan schafer went deep into the right center field gap, which you can see right here, and blanco went back and made an amazing catch! i mean, that's the kind of stuff that movies are made of right there. one of the best catches of his career. it saved the perfect game. from there it was all matt cain, and he retired 27 batters in a

row. in the amazing history of baseball, only 22 pitchers have ever thrown perfect games. so it's a great night and a great thing for san francisco because you've got this great crowd from all over the world in town to see the u.s. open so there are almost 43,000 people at the ballpark last night to see this game. they got a treat. >> the umpire made history, too, right? >> even the umpire. look, ted barrett is the only umpire now in the history of major league baseball to call two perfect games. he called david cohen's perfect game back in 1999. he said at that time david cohen had a great breaking ball. he said the difference last night, cane company could basically put the pitch wherever he wanted. even the umpire part of history. >> if i'm a pitcher in the big-league game, i want him at the plate. >> i'm impressed you love sports. and you know rock 'n' roll, apparently. take the glasses off again. >> it's so embarrassing. we'll go to break. pinch...

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