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CNN NEWSROOM

Prince Mixes Politics and Pop; Michelle Obama Speaks about Race; Will Tom Brady Face Punishment? Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired May 11, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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


[09:30:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Prince mixing politics and pop at a Baltimore concert for Freddie Gray. Even Marilyn Mosby, the Baltimore state's attorney, lines up on stage with Prince. We'll talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Police in Wisconsin are bracing for protests by no later than tomorrow. A Madison district attorney is expected to announce whether or not charges will be brought against Matt Kenny, a white police officer, for the March 7th shooting death of an unarmed biracial teen. Tony Robinson's death sparked a series of peaceful but emotional protests in the city. And officials tell affiliate WSIN that they've been, quote, "diligently preparing" for this announcement for several weeks. Of course we'll keep you posted.

Politics, peace, and rock 'n' roll. Prince in Baltimore last night for a rally for peace concert inspired by protests over the death of Freddie Gray. There were lots of special guests, as advertised. But the most surprising person to make an appearance might have been Marilyn Mosby. Yes, the Baltimore state's attorney was called on stage with Prince. The legendary rock star playing activist shouting at the crowd that the system is broken and it's up to you young folks to fix it. And also sharing his new song "Baltimore" about the unrest. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:35:05] PRINCE (singing): Are we gonna see another bloody day? We're tired of crying and people dying. Let's take all the guns away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. So let's talk about this. Doni Glover joins me now from Baltimore. He's the publisher of bmorenews.com.

Welcome, Donny.

DONI GLOVER, PUBLISHER, BMORENEWS.COM: Hi, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: Good. Glad to have you back. GLOVER: How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good.

The song. I'm wondering about this song "Baltimore." Does it help?

GLOVER: Yes, of course it helps. Any time the, you know, one of the most talented, if not the most talented musician, performer in the world, is dedicating a song to your hometown, who wouldn't love that?

COSTELLO: Who wouldn't love that? I was -- I did find it rather ironic that the tickets were so expensive. Some cost up to $400. Nobody in that neighborhood could afford to even go to this Prince concert.

GLOVER: That is. So Mr. Prince has to come back and do one for the whole city.

COSTELLO: I think that would be an excellent idea.

GLOVER: I mean as much as 500. Yes. The tickets were as high as 500 on the streets.

COSTELLO: I know. It was crazy. Really crazy.

So the state's attorney, Marilyn Mosby, was at the concert. Supposedly she had -- her husband had bought the tickets for her previously for Mother's Day. But she appeared onstage with Prince and that's sure to get the critics' tongues wagging. Why would she do that at this particular time?

GLOVER: Oh, I don't know, but I think it was really -- I don't know. It makes sense if you're -- you know, that's a great question. You know on one way if you look at it from a political standpoint, she's going to do whatever she needs to do to solidify her position as state's attorney. And who knows, maybe even travel up the political ladder. Or maybe it's her husband that's looking to move up the political ladder. Hard to turn down an invitation from Prince.

COSTELLO: Well, it is hard to turn down an invitation from Prince, but she is the state's attorney and there is a very serious case coming up and she's already -- she already has allegations of conflict of interest against her and Prince was squarely in the protester's camp, right? So why would you chance that?

GLOVER: You're absolutely right. So from a legal standpoint, let's -- I would think the people hope that she has dotted her "i's" and crossed her "t's." That's the only time that you really have a chance to go and party is when you've actually done the work. So there's the presumption that everything is on lock. She has her charges. She'll get her convictions. And she'll continue to be this media darling, and a source of hope for future generations. That's the --

COSTELLO: But that's not really her role, is it?

GLOVER: I'm -- technically, no, ma'am, that is not her role. Her role is to charge and uphold the Constitution, to charge people appropriately. The big question that a lot of people have, are the correct charges going on the correct people? What we would not want to see is people who actually did harm get off and the people who did not do harm go to prison.

COSTELLO: So are people on the west side of Baltimore thinking that, too?

GLOVER: Well, I think right now, that's a part of it, throughout the city, throughout the state, throughout the country. The other caveat to this case is actually, as a result of the news, all of these outside sources, nonprofits, entities, NGOs, are coming to stay in town but we don't know these people and we just want them to make sure they take the time to talk the people in (INAUDIBLE).

What we don't want to see, after 15, 20 years of nonprofits, is the same people come in, swoop up this money, resources, take the money out of sand town (ph). We want people who are going to be committed to building sand town (ph), rebuilding it the way it should be. So the law we certainly hope that the state's attorney has every -- has dotted her "i's" and crossed her "t's." We certainly hope so.

COSTELLO: All right. Doni Glover, thanks for being with me. I appreciate it.

GLOVER: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the -- you're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Michelle Obama candidly confronts race in America. The speech everyone's talking about, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:45] COSTELLO: The first lady, Michelle Obama, delivering a powerful speech on race in America. Mrs. Obama speaking passionately at Tuskegee University, talking about her experiences as first lady, recalling some tough moments, including being called "uppity." Her "husband's crony of color," and even "Obama's baby mama."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: I realized that if I wanted to keep my sanity, and not let others define me, there was only one thing I could do, and that was to have faith in God's plan for me. I had to ignore all of the noise and be true to myself and the rest would work itself out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Shelley Wade is one of the country's top radio air personalities. She's based in San Diego.

Shelley, thanks for joining me.

SHELLEY WADE, RADIO PERSONALITY, 95.7 KISS FM SAN DIEGO: Hi, Carol. Thanks for having me. COSTELLO: Thanks for being here.

So I'll ask you an obvious question, first off. Why did the first lady decide to share this at this particular time?

WADE: Well, first of all, I'd like to say, like the students at Tuskegee, I also attended an HBCU. For those of you who don't know what that means, that's Historically Black College and University. I went to Texas Southern University in Houston, excellence in achievement, go Tigers! But I'm completely sure that those graduates were honored to have our nation's very first African-American first lady be the speaker at their graduation. And I know with Tuskegee's reputation and history, that First Lady Obama was very honored to speak at the graduation, as well.

And what I loved about her speech, Carol, is that she talked about just letting everything else be noise and just defining who you are because everybody's got an opinion. You see it on Twitter every day, all day. Everybody's got an opinion about how you should look, how you should sound, how you should carry yourself in the world. But the true question is, do you have an opinion about how you should look, sound and carry yourself in the world? And so you really have to come to terms with who you are and everybody else's opinion doesn't matter.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

WADE: You know, you have to stay focused. Yes.

COSTELLO: You know, one of the things that really resonated with me was when Mrs. Obama said this. She said, quote, "was I too loud or too emasculating, or was I too soft, too much of a mom and not enough of a career woman?" I think -- I think this resonates with all woman.

[09:45:11] WADE: Yes, because you're never enough. You're never going to please everyone. And that's why you have to stay true to who you are. I really am proud of the job she did with the commencement speech and the job she's done as our First Lady.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, she, she is the focus of a lot of criticism.

WADE: Yes.

COSTELLO: Especially for her campaign for healthier children, right, and her obesity fight. She also said this during the speech, quote, "I also work to ensure that my efforts would resonate with kids and families and that meant doing things in a creative and unconventional way. So, yes, I planted a garden. And hula hooped on the White House lawn with kids. I did some mom-dancing on TV. And at the end of the day, by staying true to the me I've always known I found that this journey has been incredibly freeing."

And I think, as you said, that Mrs. Obama came to the conclusion that you can't please everyone, so it's best to be who you are and ignore the rest. WADE: Exactly. You have to stay focused and stay true to who you

are, and with that she's setting a great example not only for the rest of us in the country, but a great example for her girls.

COSTELLO: I think it also brings to light something we've always known, how difficult it is to define the role of First Lady in modern times. It's incredibly difficult. Because Michelle Obama was also criticized for being a mom figure over a career woman. You know, a lot of women said why don't you show your strong side? And a lot of other people saying you're the First Lady, you shouldn't show any side at all.

WADE: Again, the point is, you can't please everyone. And I think she's done a magnificent job, excuse me. She's -- she's proven to be who she is and stayed true to that. She's proven that she's caring in the way she raises her daughters and the way she's worked with the military families and wanting to help parents raise healthier kids and how they eat. You know, the school lunches and, like you said, planting the gardens and getting the exercise in. She's shown that she has a really fun side. You know, the-mom dancing with Jimmy Fallon.

And again I think she should just be true to herself. I mean, there's no -- there have been examples with previous First Ladies, but she has to be true to who Michelle Obama is, and you know, set the standard for what she wants to do and the message she wants to leave as First Lady. So, stay true to yourself. I love that message.

COSTELLO: True to at least one aspect of her personality, right, because it's not the whole Michelle Obama.

WADE: Exactly.

COSTELLO: All right, Shelley Wade, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

WADE: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the NFL's Deflategate investigation pointing the finger at the Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady. Will he be punished soon? We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:51:38] COSTELLO: New York's governor pledging to protect nail salon workers, many of whom earn low wages and are exposed to dangerous chemicals on a daily basis. According to "The New York Times", New York governor Andrew Cuomo is implementing a task force to conduct salon by salon investigations. His goal: to protect employees from those chemicals and combat wage theft using a language education program. Salons who do not comply, or are unlicensed, will be shut down.

This just in. Oh no. "American Idol" has been sent home by Fox. Next season will be its last. The network deciding to end the show in 2016. The decision announced at the annual Up Front presentation this morning. At one time, "American Idol" was the hottest program on television bringing in 30 million viewers per episode, but it has struggled to bring in 10 million viewers this season. "Idol" has produced some big stars, though, including Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, and Jennifer Hudson.

OK, let's talk sports. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady smiling in front of friendly hometown audience on Friday, shrugging off fresh controversy over Deflategate just a day after an NFL investigation implicates him of at least being generally aware of underinflated footballs in AFC championship game in January. The question now: will Brady face punishment? Some say that punishment could come down as soon as this week.

CNN's sports correspondent Coy Wire joins me now with more. Good morning. So will a decision come down this week?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It is likely. On Friday, I spoke to a prominent attorney, Carol, who said he's very intimate with this type of situation, has experience in high profile NFL cases. And he's familiar with the process. He said likely that Tom Brady, after that report came out, would meet with Troy Vincent, the VP of Football Operations for the NFL. Then after that he would have a follow-up meeting with Roger Goodell to discuss the report some more.

This process, he said, usually takes about a week. That was the information I received on Friday. So that would put us at this Friday. Could be Thursday maybe at the earliest, I'm thinking, before we know what, and if, any punishments will be handed out to Tom Brady and the Patriots, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, so is it possible -- is it possible that the NFL is putting off this punishment because, you know, the first game of the new season features the Patriots versus the Steelers and it wouldn't be as fun without Tom Brady?

WIRE: This is true. And that's a good game and I will not miss it. I don't think, though, that they're going to let this factor into that decision at all. I think they want to be done with this as quickly as possible. If there's going to be punishment, they want it to be out of the way, clear their hands of it.

Secondly, that first game, even if Tom Brady isn't there, TV ratings might be even higher. They would want to see if the Patriots can win without Tom Brady; they're such a good team. So I don't think that that's going to come into play at all. I do think we'll see a decision sometime this week and what punishments may come for Tom Brady and the team.

COSTELLO: OK, I'm going to put you on the spot. What do you think the punishment will be?

WIRE: I'm thinking it will be four games, Carol. I really do. I think that Goodell is not going to -- if he looks at this report and says that it probably happened, that means that Tom Brady also lied about it. That will not sit well with Roger Goodell. [09:55:00] So I think there will be some sort of suspension for Tom

Brady, and look out for some fines for the organization, being their second occurrence of a cheating scandal. Roger Goodell with Bountygate with the New Orleans Saints, he said it didn't matter that Sean Payton, head coach, didn't know about it. He suspended him for an entire year. What happens in your house, for that you are responsible. Carol.

COSTELLO: We'll see what happens. Coy Wire, thanks as usual. I appreciate it.

WIRE: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, two police officers gunned down. Their families wrestling with the heartbreak. We'll hear from one of the officer's mothers, next.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Happening now in the NEWSROOM, protecting his family until the end. A heartbroken sister remembering her brother, shot and killed in the line of duty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He would always call to make sure I was all right. What I didn't know is that would be the last time I would hear his voice.

COSTELLO: Now the suspects preparing to face a judge in Mississippi.

Plus --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There goes the school. There goes the school.

COSTELLO: A deadly round of severe storms. Tornadoes ripping through several states. Flash floods rising so quickly choppers called in for rescues, and it ain't over yet.

[10:00:03] And touchy topic -- SNL taking on the Draw Muhammad controversy. Did it cross the line?

Let's talk live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)