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CNN NEWSROOM

Supreme Court Takes on DOMA; Petraeus Apologizes for Affair; What does "Ungoogleable" Mean?; Dionne Warwick Files for Bankruptcy; From Unknown to Tournament Darling

Aired March 27, 2013 - 09:30   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're watching in the NEWSROOM at 30 minutes past the hour. Stock futures have been lower ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. Investors keeping an eye on the financial woes in Cyprus. And in a half hour, some pending home sale figures will come in. We'll bring them to you when we get them.

T-mobile is shaking up the cell phone market. It's now offering bargain plans with no contract. And it's got the iPhone 5. The carrier also is rolling out a 4G LTE network that it says has faster data download speeds than Verizon and AT&T.

In just about a half hour, the Supreme Court hears more arguments on the issue of same-sex marriage. This is a live picture from outside the court. Today's focus is the federal Defense of Marriage Act. It defines marriage as between a man and a woman and it effectively means federal benefits like tax breaks, Social Security payments, and family leave do not reapply to gay and lesbian couples. President Bill Clinton signed that to law in 1996, but said recently he changed his mind. He thinks its unconstitutional.

And as justices deliberate DOMA, supporters hope this symbol continues to spread across the internet. Including the Human Rights Campaign, which came up with the idea. The group advocates equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. This is what the group's logo normally looks like, blue and yellow, but you saw the newer version before.

As I said today, the Supreme Court will focus on same-sex marriage recognition at the federal level. Yesterday, all about the states and whether a state can ban same-sex couples from marrying. Justices pushed back against both sides of the Prop 8 argument, and some wondered why are they hearing the case at all? Many analysts saying the court is taking a cautious tone.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SONIA SOTOMAYOR, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: Outside of the marriage context, you can think of any other rational basis, reason, for a state using sexual orientation as a factor in denying homosexuals benefits?

CHARLES COOPER, ATTORNEY FOR PROP 8 SUPPORTERS: Your honor, I cannot. I do not have anything to offer you. ANTONIN SCALIA, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: I'm curious, when did -- when did it become unconstitutional to exclude homosexual couples from marriage?

THEODORE OLSON, ATTORNEY FOR PROP 8 OPPONENTS: The label marriage means something, even --

JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: Sir, if you tell a child that somebody has to be their friend. I suppose you can force the child to say this is my friend, but it changes the definition of what it means to be a friend. And that it seems to me what supporters of Proposition 8 are saying. All you're interested in is the label and you insist on changing the definition of the label.

SAMUEL ALITO, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: Traditional marriage been around for thousands of years, same-sex marriage very new. I think it was first adopted in the Netherlands in 2000, so there isn't a lot of data about its effect.

ELENA KAGAN, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: If you are over the age of 55, you don't help us serve the government's interest of regulating procreation through marriage. Why is that different?

COOPER: Your honor, even with respect to couples over the age of 55, it is very rare that both couples -- both parties to the couple are infertile. In the traditional --

(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: I can assure you, if both the woman and man are over the age of 55, there are not a lot of children coming out of that marriage.

(LAUGHTER)

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Most likely not. Now, if the Supreme Court decides to dismiss Prop 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, what will it mean for the marriage equality movement? Will it be dead? Our political panel discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Supreme Court continues its review of same-sex marriage today as it hears challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage act, or DOMA. But could some of the justices' statements about Prop 8, the California law, hold a clue as to how the court will eventually decide? Joining me is Jason Johnson, chief political correspondent for "Politic365" and professor of political science at Hiram College. And Ana Navarro, CNN contributor and Republican strategist. Welcome to you both.

JASON JOHNSON, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "POLITIC365": Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So, it was not a banner day for gay rights advocates at the Supreme Court yesterday and here's why. Just one example, Justice Sotomayor, a liberal judge, questioned whether the court was deciding this issue too soon, asking why not let the country continue to experiment with same-sex marriage and figure out where it wants to go? Not exactly a ringing endorsement of deciding to, you know, make same- sex marriage the law of the land, right, Jason?

JOHNSON: Yes, and I think really today's arguments are the most important. The Defense of Marriage Act that is really more problematic than Proposition 8. The idea you can get married in one state, but another state doesn't have to recognize it, that's a constitutionality issue. We're supposed to have full, faith and credit. A contract in one place is supposed to be a contract somewhere else. What the Supreme Court says today is even more important than their ambivalence from yesterday.

COSTELLO: But Ana, it does sound like the Supreme Court, the justices just want to punt.

NAVARRO: You know what, Carol? Many a Supreme Court legal expert got it wrong. When it came to healthcare. I remember the advocates of Obamacare left the courtroom crestfallen, the day of the arguments and the folks that were against left their buoy thinking they had a good day, and it all went the other way. The one lesson I've learned is that I can no more read the Supreme Court justices than I can read ancient Sanskrit.

I think we'll have to wait and see what the decision ends up being. It could be that they decide there is no standing. And that would still be a partial victory for folks in California. It would become the law of the land in California and those couples would have recognition. And that would make it so that 28 percent of Americans are living in a place where gay marriage is legal.

COSTELLO: Yeah, but still when you parse out what Sonia Sotomayor said, it sounds reasonable despite what you said, Ana. You could argue that we are still experimenting with same-sex marriage. Only blue states have made same-sex marriage legal. Thirty-eight states have banned same-sex marriage and six states allow civil unions, and if you look at the numbers, the hard numbers, doesn't that illustrate, Jason, the country isn't quite there yet?

JOHNSON: The country is not there at all. And I think that's --

COSTELLO: But everybody is saying it is. Gay rights advocates would say now's the time.

JOHNSON: The gay rights advocates are wrong. They've always been wrong. Because they are promoting their own perspective. Most Americans still think homosexuality is strange, most American's don't think homosexuality is something normal. But that's a separate question from whether or not people think that adults have the right to marry somebody else. And I think that's the other thing that the Supreme Court is separating. If you listen what Sonia Sotomayor is saying, she's like look, is there any reason for sexual orientation to come into play here? And I think that's the issue. What's the legal right, vis a vis what people actually are comfortable with. And I think that's what really needs to be separated in this case.

COSTELLO: That's despite, Ana, polls that show 58 percent of Americans believe same-sex marriage ought to be legal? Do they think that way because of what Jason said or because they are more accepting of the gay lifestyle?

NAVARRO: I think -- look, I think most of us at this point don't think homosexuality is abnormal or see it as strange. There are some places where there are more homosexuals and they are more part of our life, and of the social fiber than in others. I, for example, live in south Florida, and having gay friends, having gay CEOs, having gay university presidents, having gay leaders in all walks of life is not strange for folks in south Florida like me. And I want to assure you that the approval in south Florida for gay marriage and the gay lifestyle is much higher than maybe in some -- even within Florida in some more rural places where it's just not as accepted.

One of the things we've learned is having personal contact and personal experience with gay people is something that can shape the opinion for folks and how they perceive this. 20 percent of people say their opinion is shaped by experiences with gay people. So surely, those of us who live in places where we are more exposed to gay lifestyles and have them part of our friends and circle, don't have anywhere near the issues. I would never call myself somebody who sees them as strange or abnormal. I happen to love them. I cannot have enough gay friends, I'd like more.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Justice Roberts doesn't seem to be amenable to same-sex marriage, at least from his comments yesterday, even though he has a gay relative sitting in the courtroom to hear the arguments. So Jason, that doesn't work for everyone.

JOHNSON: No, it doesn't. And you have to look -- I'm from Ohio, right. Rob Portman came out last week. I support gay marriage, now that the coast is clear. Even though he waited two years after his son came out of closet to say that he supported gay marriage. I can tell you from speaking about my students, they still have issues with people who are gay. But in many cases, how people look at the Supreme Court and laws is how it will affect them personally. People are concerned that, look if the Supreme Court starts messing with marriage in general it may affect me and what it is I want to do. That's really important. The constitutionality issue is separate from whether or not people are comfortable. Once laws get passed, people have to get comfortable with things. Same thing happened with segregation, same thing will happen with gay meaning.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much for a fascinating conversation, which will continue in the days to come. Ana Navarro and Jason Johnson, thank you so much.

The hottest couple in sports right now. We're talking about the hottest story in sports, Andy and Amanda Enfield give CNN their take on the Florida Gulf coast university reaching the Sweet 16. "Bleacher Report" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: At 46 minutes past the hour, time to check our "Top Stories".

The man who is once one of Washington's most respected leaders is now apologizing for the sex scandal that ruined his career. David Petraeus, a four-star Army General resigned as director of the CIA after admitting to an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. And hours ago Petraeus opened a rare public appearance with a very personal apology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: Please allow me to begin my remarks this evening by reiterating how deeply I regret and apologize for the circumstances that led to my resignation from the CIA and caused such pain for my family, friends, and supporters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Petraeus was speaking at a dinner honoring the military at the University of Southern California.

We've shown you the ad and now some executives are out of a job because of it. The ad, seen in India, feature women tied up in the back of a Ford with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi or Paris Hilton at the wheel. Ford apologize though it appears the company had nothing to do with the ad. The ad struck a nerve though particularly following a series of high-profile gang rapes in India.

To Sweden where Google is fighting the government over the definition of a brand new word, "Ungoogleable", that's "Ungoogleable". Here's Zain Verjee.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Carol. As if there wasn't enough trouble in the world today now Sweden is fighting with Google over the word "Ungoogleable". Really important stuff, right? "Ungoogleable" made it to the list of new Swedish words basically meaning something that cannot be found with any search engine. Google didn't like it and thought it should only apply to Google because the word, "Google" is in that word. So then they complained to the Language Council of Sweden who then removed the word from their list. Google says that they are just protecting their trademark.

Carol, I use the word Googlicious for all things delicious. Am I getting into trouble now?

COSTELLO: I think Google would like the term Googlicious. I'm just guessing, though. Thank you Zain.

Also this morning news that Dionne Warwick is broke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIONNE WARWICK, SINGER: In good times, in bad times I will be on your side forever more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, Warwick of course is one of the most recognizable pop voices of the 1960s and filing for bankruptcy last week, she claimed more than $10 million in tax debt dating back to 1991.

Still ahead in the NEWSROOM, our "Talk Back" question for you today, "Does winning trump everything?" Your responses next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: "Talk Back" question for you today: "Does winning trump everything?"

This from Diana. "Tiger Woods' personal life is just that -- personal. Plays a great game of golf and deserves to win."

This from Charles, "No, you cannot just do as you please and as long as you win it's ok. It doesn't work that way."

This from Bob. "No humility should trump winning."

And this from Ken, "No, it does not. What a tasteless ad by Nike. They surprised me."

Facebook.com/carolCNN or Tweet me @carolCNN if you'd like to continue the conversation.

Andy Enfield and his former supermodel wife has become the talk of the NCAA tournament. Sports' new power couple sat down with CNN to talk about family and the unexpected success of Enfield's team, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. Here's Joe Carter with the "Bleacher Report."

JOE CARTER, BLEACHER REPORT: Good morning Carol.;

Yes Andy Enfield, that's a name really nobody knew or heard of before last week. The head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, virtually unknown. Of course, now everybody is talking about this guy and his team. What a great back story he has. He was the valedictorian at his high school. He was an outstanding basketball player in college and then of course there is his wife, a former cover girl model. I mean that's clearly out kicking your cover here (ph). The couple have three kids.

And they sat down with CNN's Rachel Nichols yesterday. And basically told her that their little ones are also enjoying dad's basketball success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA ENFIELD, FGCU COACH'S WIFE: My oldest daughter's focus is to go to Target and buy a dinosaur from the dollar bank. Because that was -- that was promised after we got back from the tournament.

ANDY ENFIELD, FGCU COACH: Yes I told her if we won the first game, she could get a dinosaur and another daughter we'll get a Barbie.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What do they get if you win game three?

A. ENFIELD: Well they get more I've already agreed to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: The art of bribery works so well with young kids. The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles have shocked the sports world. They are the first 15th seed to advance to the sweet 16. They play Friday night against Florida at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. You can watch it on our sister network TBS.

Well the story getting the most buzz this morning on BleacherReport.com, Manti Te'o, the linebacker made up for a disappointing performance at the NFL Combine by running a faster 40 yard dash at Notre Dame's pro-day yesterday. Some experts are saying that his new time greatly improves his draft status up to a possible first round pick. Others saying not convinced he's star material just yet for the NFL.

Talk about the high price to pay for a night of party. NFL player Shaun Rogers told Miami Police he was robbed of $440,000 in jewelry by a woman he just met. Rogers said after a night of partying he returned to his room at the Fountain Blue Hotel. He decided to go to bed. When he woke up the next morning the women was gone and so is his diamond earrings, two wrist watches, a gold necklace, a diamond necklace and his gold bracelet. It's $440,000 worth of gold jewelry stolen from the hotel safe. Police say they are trying to identify the woman who is the suspect in the theft.

Chicago native Mr. T. Was at the Blackhawks game last night. The legendary '80s actor had this to say before a shoot the puck competition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your prediction for shoot the puck?

MR. T: Pain. I pity that puck. I pity it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: Yes, he's still got it doesn't he? Pain.

COSTELLO: Yes, all right.

CARTER: Mr. T. was involved in a slap shot contest during an intermission during of the Blackhawks game. You see there he made three tries. He made the last one, obviously, the crowd was very into it. He was into it. It was a combination of greatness last night, Carol. We saw the old Mr. T. And we saw him do something that not many people can do on the ice there.

COSTELLO: He looks fit too. He looks good.

CARTER: He can play hockey. He can box. He can do all kinds of things. That guy's great.

COSTELLO: Yes, he can. Thanks so much Joe. We appreciate it.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, North Korea threatens to reduce Seoul to a sea of fire and nuke the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. is fully capable of defending itself and our allies in the event of (inaudible) attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Should we worry about Kim Jong-Un?

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETRAEUS: How deeply I regret and apologize for the circumstances that led to my resignation from the CIA.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Former CIA director David Petraeus says he's sorry for his affair.

And tablets, kindles, cell phones -- should you be able to use them on takeoffs and landings? The rules getting a fresh look.

And watch out, a light post slams through the windshield of a bus.