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Arab Protests Flare After Friday Prayers; Muslim Brotherhood Cancels Protests; Protests In Egypt Despite Cancellation; The Americans Killed In Libya; Anti-Islamic Filmmaker Has Shady Past; Values Voter Summit Kicks Off; U.S. Increasing Security In Yemen; The Fight Over Voter IDs; Thousands Reported At Sudan Protest; Shaq Speaks on Capitol Hill; Magazine Publishes Topless Kate Photo; "Why Have Kids"; Stress Isn't Always Bad; Chris Brown's Taboo Tattoo

Aired September 14, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. Anti-American protests worldwide all over a film Muslims are finding offensive. Now we're learning more about the man behind that controversial movie.

One of the key demographics in this election may be social conservatives. The Romney campaign needs them to win the White House. We're talking to Tony Perkins, the president of Family Research Council about why his conference is critical to Republicans.

Less than two months from the election and the fight continues to keep those ineligible to vote from a ballot. Some states urging voter rolls and forcing voters to show I.D.s, but congressman and civil rights pioneer, John Lewis is fighting back. He is here with us live.

College students drink. That's nothing new, but for some students drinking leads to problems in the classroom. Now Shaq is back. We'll talk to the former basketball star about his new cause. NEWSROOM starts now.

Good morning and happy Friday to you. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for being with us. We begin this hour with breaking news. Friday prayers are now finished in most of the Muslim world and as expected new anti-American protests are flaring up.

We have new pictures out of Yemen where there have been conflicting reports from the U.S. Embassy. Security forces fired warning shots at a crowd of protesters as they march to the embassy. Water canons eventually chased them away.

Now to Tripoli, Lebanon and yes, there is a Tripoli, Lebanon. It was the crowds that chased away the government forces there. Protesters threw rocks and bottles. Today, as you know, the pope is visiting Beirut, Lebanon. That's about 50 miles south of Tripoli, Lebanon.

Now a dramatic new effort to tamp down some of the ugliest anti- American violence in the Arab world and it comes at a critical time. In the past 24 hours, protests have swept across the massive region. Eleven countries in all from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east, but also new this morning a startling development, Egypt's powerful religious group the Muslim Brotherhood has ordered nationwide demonstrations be canceled. Rioting outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo has been the most violent with more than 200 people injured.

Our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman is in Cairo. So, Ben, how significant is this group's intervention?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the decision by the Muslim Brotherhood to cancel the demonstrations that they were planning across the country, but not in the area of where we are.

Which is, in fact, right over there, that building with the dome on top is the American Embassy. But despite the cancellation it hasn't made much of a difference in the street.

If we look, we just pan the camera down below you can see these are demonstrators literally around the block from the American Embassy, prevented from getting closer by a large concrete wall that was constructed this morning by the Egyptian security forces.

And what we have now is the protesters are trying to sort of go via side streets to get closer to the embassy. Now you can't tell at the moment, but the air is becoming quite thick with tear gas, which is sort of overcoming me at the moment.

But that tear gas is basically the only thing that's stopping these demonstrators from getting closer to the American embassy -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Are you all right? I'm going to let you go, Ben. Thank you so much. Ben Wedeman reporting live from Cairo.

WEDEMAN: It's OK, Carol.

COSTELLO: Are you sure? OK, I'm going to ask you one more question. You're a good guy to continue.

WEDEMAN: No problem.

COSTELLO: The Egyptian government is in a tough place right now. The president came out a couple of days ago and said, look, Egypt is not exactly our ally any more. Did the president' comments have anything to do with Egypt's tamping down or canceling some protests across the country?

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly, the Muslim Brotherhood officials I spoke with yesterday, Carol, did seem to get the message that the American government takes very seriously the breach of the embassy on Wednesday night and the fact that they want to make sure that the Egyptian security forces properly guard the embassy.

But there's sort of two different messages going on. In English, the message is very conciliatory, the Muslim Brotherhood and officials within the government expressing a desire for good relations with the United States.

But at the same time if you look under Arabic website, if you go for instance to a Muslim Brotherhood rally I went to at a mosque on the other side of the Nile, the rhetoric is very different. There were people shouting Obama, there are a million Osamas.

It rhymes in Arabic. They were chanting against the United States, saying it's a patron of terrorism. So the message in English conciliatory, the message in Arabic to the street here in Egypt is quite to the contrary -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Ben Wedeman, we're going to let you go. Thanks for hanging in there. We appreciate it because I know you're very uncomfortable right now. Ben Wedeman, thanks so much.

We now know more about the Americans killed in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya. Tyrone Woods is a former Navy SEAL who was working as a private security guard for the government.

For the last couple of years, he had been protecting diplomatic personnel in hot spots from Central America to the Middle East. His mother said he died doing what he loved best.

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CHERYL BENNETT, TYRONE WOODS' MOTHER: I would not want to be seen as a hero. He would want to be seen as a guy on his team who did his job and did it well, did it the best he could.

Obviously, obviously and unfortunately, and I'm sure -- I'm sure my son went down fighting. I don't know the ins and outs of it. I haven't been told, but I'm sure he went down fighting. I'm sure he did. I hope his last moments were not painful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Today the remains of all the Americans are being returned to the United States. They include from the left, Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Glenn Doherty in the middle and State Department worker, Sean Smith.

Here are some of their tributes. A friend of Sean Smith tells us, quote, "He had no desire for fame or recognition. He simply saw things that needed to be fixed and set about trying to fix them. His loss is all the more tragic because it was caused by forces he detested, those of hatred, intolerance and ignorance.

Glenn Doherty is another former SEAL providing diplomatic security like Ambassador Stevens. He viewed the mission in Libya as much more than just a job. His siblings wanted to share their stories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE QUIGLEY, GLEN DOHERTY'S SISTER: Glenn lived his life to the fullest. He was my brother, but if you ask his friends he was their brother as well. We ask for privacy during this time as we grieve for our friend, my brother, our brother, our son and our American hero.

TOM STEVENS, CHRISTOPHER STEVENS' BROTHER (via telephone): He was doing what he always did, which was representing the United States in an exceptional manner. He was my big brother. So, all things that typically as a little brother, all that guidance, just being best friends, that's what I'll miss the most.

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COSTELLO: A U.S. government source said the attack that killed those Americans may have been planned and the protests may have been a diversion, but regardless the man responsible for making that anti- Islamic film is coming under intense scrutiny.

Miguel Marquez has been looking into the filmmaker's past.

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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is the shadowy maker of a low-budget anti-Islamic film or was it criminal pass in many aliases clearly someone who doesn't want to be found and as we discovered for good reason.

In 1997, Bacile, his real name Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, spent a year in prison convicted of intent to manufacture methamphetamine. In 2010, he spent another year, this time in federal prison for fraud.

(on camera): These are just some of the documents for criminal cases against Sam Bacile or Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. It is clear by going through these that investigators had a hard time tracking him down as well. The guy had several addresses, many Social Security numbers, and lots of names.

(voice-over): Court document show he used at least 17 different times including Sam Bacile, Kritbag Difrat and PJ Tobacco and Thomas Tanas.

(on camera): Anything having anything to do with Sam Bacile is scared to death right now across Los Angeles. This is a neighborhood in Long Beach.

A man who lives here says that Nakoula Basseley used his address to get credit cards and conduct some of the fraudulent activity that he carried out. He found out about it, called the police and hasn't seen him since.

(voice-over): Numbers associated with Bacile's many identities turned up nothing. Even anti-Islamic activists who worked with him say they were never exactly sure who he was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sam was not his real name. I knew that.

MARQUEZ: The same is even true for the actors in his movie.

CINDY GARCIA, ACTRESS: He told me he was from Israel. Today, he told me he was going to show the movie in Egypt. Either I assumed he was from Egypt or -- MARQUEZ (on camera): You believed he was Egyptian.

GARCIA: Yes, because that's what I believed.

MARQUEZ: This is the best address we have for Sam Bacile or Nikoula Basseley whatever you want to call him. You can see all of the media has camped out here. We are going to try one more time to talk to him. Mr. Bacile, Mr. Nakoula, it is Miguel Marquez with CNN.

(voice-over): This house the center of an intense search for answers from a man who has many questions hanging over his head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now we have been able to confirm one other thing. This is a man who represented himself as an Israeli-American or as a Jewish- Israeli-American.

He told cast and crew members that. We spoke to the bishop of the Coptic Christian Church he goes to church here and also to friends of his here. He is Egyptian and he is Coptic Christian. He is laying very low -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I watched this trailer on YouTube and it's just so bad and cheesy and doesn't make much sense. Has it ever been shown anywhere else besides YouTube?

MARQUEZ: It's absolutely -- yes. It's ridiculous. This thing to watch it is ridiculous. But it apparently did show a third name, the innocence of Bin Laden in a movie theater, literally two blocks from where I'm standing at Vine Theatre here in Hollywood back this summer we believe in June.

They may have done that some version of it. They may have done that for copyright reasons. The actors in the film said they were never invited to a screening of it. Very few people if anybody showed up to that screening.

One actor I talked to said that Sam says or whatever his name is that the film is not finished but should runabout two hours. Some version of it has aired or been in a theater, but I don't think the final version has been made yet -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Miguel Marquez reporting live for us from Los Angeles. The Values Voter Summit kicks off in Washington, D.C. today. Social conservatives are trying to rally around Mitt Romney, but can they win the election for him? We'll talk to Tony Perkins from the Family Research Council next.

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COSTELLO: The Values Voter Summit kicks off in Washington, D.C. today. Expected to speak there are Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan as well as Ann Romney.

The summit is an annual gathering of the country's strongest social conservative, voters who will play a critical role in this year's political election.

Tony Perkins is the president of Family Research Council, which runs the Values Voter Summit. Welcome, Tony.

TONY PERKINS, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: Good morning, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. Thanks for being with us. Both you and Paul Ryan are speaking this weekend. What do you hope to hear from Paul Ryan?

PERKINS: Well, I think we're going to hear what is a priority for the Romney campaign and that is to get America back on track fiscally, getting America back on track from a moral and values standpoint. I think there's a crowd here that will be very receptive to what Paul Ryan has to say.

COSTELLO: Conservatives accuse Democrats of booing God at their convention, of celebrating abortion and same sex marriage. If most of America was bothered by that it isn't showing up in the polls. Why do you think that is?

PERKINS: I think it's blatant. I think it is a factor as I've heard, as I've been around the country just in the last week. You know, I don't know that people necessarily see them as booing God, but do I see them as overlooking him, having to amend their platform and not being in agreement just by an oblique reference to God.

I do think that's a factor just as it was a factor in the 80s with Ronald Reagan when you had the Reagan Democrats who left the party over the social issues. I've seen there are moderate Democrats who just feel the party has gone too far to the left on where they were celebrating the abortion culture and same sex marriage.

COSTELLO: On the subject of Reagan Democrats, Ohio is full of them. According to a recent NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll, President Obama is leading by seven points in Ohio. So, maybe it would be wise for Mitt Romney to back off the social issues for a time and talk about something else?

PERKINS: Actually there's a poll out last week where it showed there was the greatest unity of likely voters around the issue of importance of family and the definition of marriage, 51.4 percent of voters agreed on that.

Only about 38 percent agreeing on the Republican platform as it pertains to economic issues. And by the way, Ohio if you go back to 2004, what really swung that for George W. Bush was the marriage issue and what happened there is you had voters who were not likely voters who came out.

COSTELLO: That doesn't appear, Tony, to be happening this time.

PERKINS: Well, you're not going see that until Election Day because these folks are not being polled. These are folks that didn't vote last time. They weren't motivated to vote for John McCain. They weren't sure what Barack Obama had to offer. They know now. And they -- I see the enthusiasm that they are beginning to show for an alternative, which is found in Mitt Romney.

COSTELLO: I want to move to this anti-Muslim film that's causing so much turmoil in the Middle East. Supposedly it was made by a Coptic Christian, an Egyptian. As a Christian, what do you say to him?

PERKINS: Well, I mean, what I would say to the Muslim world is that is not how we settle our differences. Here in America we have the freedom of speech. We have the ability to bring different ideas and viewpoints to the public square and work through those in nonviolent fashion. That's why America is successful. That's why you have so much turmoil in the Middle East.

COSTELLO: What would you say to the filmmaker?

PERKINS: Well, I mean if he puts -- I haven't seen the film so I can't speak. I can't speak to the content of the film, but I don't think that we should shrink back from speaking the truth because some people become enraged and act in violent actions. That means we're being held hostage.

COSTELLO: So are you saying this filmmaker is speaking the truth?

PERKINS: I don't know. I haven't seen the film. As I said I can't be a film critic of this particular film. I'm saying as Americans we should not shrink back out of fear of speaking what may be truth, if it is in fact truth simply because there are those in the world that will act violently.

We as Americans will not be held hostage to Islamic world and that's a part of the problem with this administration, the foreign policy of leaders from behind and apologizing for being Americans. You find here today Americans are tired of apologizing for being Americans.

COSTELLO: Tony Perkins, we'll leave it there. We have a bit of breaking news to share with our viewers. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

Here's the breaking news now on the anti-American protests in the Arab world. Just moments ago, we learned that U.S. Marines are being dispatched to one of the hot spots. Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon to tell us where. Hi, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol. CNN has learned from a senior U.S. official, Marines are headed, a small group of them, to Yemen, to the capital in Sanaa to protect the U.S. diplomatic installations there after very serious violence broke out yesterday and did continue this morning.

It's a small group of Marines, very similar to the team that was dispatched to the diplomatic installations in Libya. This is an anti- terrorism team. The group that went to Libya was about 50 Marines. Similar expected in Yemen.

They are there to protect diplomatic installations. The U.S. officials very adamant, very clear there is no combat mission for them, but when these U.S. Embassies, these U.S. diplomatic areas are coming under attack, they are going to move to protect them.

And of course, we saw President Obama a couple of days ago say security will be ramped up. So now this group of Marines armed on their way to the capital of Sanaa, Yemen to work security issues at the U.S. Embassy and diplomatic installations of the United States in Yemen -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Barbara Starr, thanks for that, reporting live from the Pentagon. We'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: The fight over voter I.D. laws is red hot in Pennsylvania. Just 53 days before the presidential election. The state's new law, which requires voters to show a picture I.D. is now in Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

At issue, whether this new requirement will keep minority and poor voters from the polls. It's a charge we've heard in Florida, Ohio and Colorado and something Congressman John Lewis called a throwback to the Jim Crow South.

He joins us now from Washington. Welcome.

REPRESENTATIVE JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: What do you expect to happen in Pennsylvania?

LEWIS: Well, it is my hope and it is my prayer that the State Supreme Court will declare this law, these provisions unconstitutional. Remind me of another period of a dark past and we cannot go back to that period.

To be able to cast a vote should be very simple. The vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It should be very easy to cast a vote in the 50 states of the United States of America.

COSTELLO: So I know we've been having this argument for many months now but Republicans would say most of us have a picture ID. It's not hard to get one in the state of Pennsylvania. So what's the big deal?

LEWIS: Well, the big deal is very simple, 900,000 people could be denied the right to participate, to cast a vote. That's not right, it's not fair, and it's not just in a democratic society. President Jimmy Carter said many years ago to cast a vote should be as simple as getting a glass of water.

COSTELLO: This election could come down to a few hundred votes in key areas as you know, for instance in the key battleground state of Florida election officials there purged 200 people it said should not be allowed to vote. If they found those people ineligible isn't that it good thing they purged those people from the rolls?

LEWIS: You don't have widespread fraud in any of the 50 states. In the state of Pennsylvania, in the state of Florida, over and over again, all over America you do not have voter fraud.

And the Republican leadership in the state of Pennsylvania and some of the other states are saying when we have voter ID, we can throw the election towards Mr. Romney and take it from President Barack Obama.

COSTELLO: Are you kind of stunned we're talking about these kinds of things in this day and age with your history, I mean?

LEWIS: Well, I'm really shocked. For me it is unreal. It is unbelievable. It may not be the literacy test or counting jelly beans in a jar, people aren't being beaten or chased by police dogs, but it takes us back to another day and another period and as Americans we should not want to even dream about the past.

COSTELLO: Does your office get many calls from people who feel disenfranchised?

LEWIS: Well, there are people who have called and other reports I have heard that people are showing up, trying to participate, trying to vote without a voter ID. I would urge and encourage people all across America that they must participate. They must get out and vote and let nothing, but nothing keep them from casting their votes.

COSTELLO: Congressman, thank you so much for being with us this morning. We appreciate it.

LEWIS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: OK, we have more breaking news to tell you. We just got these pictures in from the Sudan, from Khartoum. There was massive protest over this anti-Muslim film. Protesters started at the British and German Embassies and then moved on the United States Embassy.

We understand at one point, there was as many as 10,000 people protesting outside of those embassies. You see the pictures right here. That looks like tear gas, doesn't it? That does look like tear gas.

So we know that government forces are out trying to dispel the crowds. You see them running away, very difficult to get information out of this part of the world. As I said massive protests now going on right now in Sudan. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with more.

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COSTELLO: Thirty-one 31 minutes past the hour. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for being with us today.

Checking our "Top Stories" now. About 3,000 demonstrators are gathering in Tripoli, Lebanon right now to protest that anti-Islam YouTube video. Officials there say a group of armed men stormed the KFC restaurant, Kentucky Fried Chicken and set it ablaze.

In the meantime in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood called off nationwide demonstrations there except for one in Tahrir Square. Remember the so-called "pink slime". Well it's actually called lean finely textured beef product. And the company that makes it is suing ABC for over $1 billion claiming that their news reports caused financial damages. The company is called Beef Products Incorporated and they say their product is 100 percent beef and that ABC made false and defamatory statements leading people to believe that real meat was "pink slime".

Almost 35,000 people are evacuating towns around the capital of Guatemala this morning according to a Red Cross spokesperson. As you can see from this iReport the fire volcano is spewing ash and smoke near Antigua in Guatemala. This eruption marks the sixth and strongest this year. Several people have been treated for ash and smoke inhalation.

He was the greatest in the boxing ring. And yesterday Muhammed Ali was honored for his work outside the ring. Ali receive the 2012 Liberty Medal from National Constitution Center for being a quote, "Champion of Freedom and a living embodiment of the Constitution."

He was given the medal for his many humanitarian efforts.

Shaquille O'Neal is on Capitol Hill today unveiling a new plan to combat binge drinking among students at historically black colleges and universities. He's working with the Century Council, Morgan State University and Morehouse College.

More than a year ago the retired basketball star started working with colleges to inspire students to make videos about binge drinking. Shaquille O'Neal joins us now from Washington. Welcome.

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, RETIRED BASKETBALL STAR: Hello, how are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. So you -- you had your meeting what did you guys talk about?

O'NEAL: Well, you know I just thanked everyone for coming out and we just want everyone to help spread the message of binge drinking. Before -- before last year there were -- there was really no research as far as, you know, binge drinking at African-American universities.

I did a video at Alabama, I did a video at Syracuse but now I'm going start going to all the HBCUs, doing videos to help promote binge drinking. For those who don't know what binge drinking is to drink, is the fourth, fifth, sixth drink that you're not supposed to take.

Another problem that we have with binge drinking is when people are binge drinking especially you know the younger crowd they binge drink, they go out, they drink and they drive and they make it home. Their thought process is hey I did, nothing happened it's ok. But it's not ok because there's a lot of stories out there where a story is a very tragic one.

COSTELLO: Oh no doubt about that. But you know it's a difficult thing because you go to college and it's sort of a rite of passage. You drink. That's just what you do. So how do you convince young people who think they are not invincible not to do something like that?

O'NEAL: Well, you know, YouTube is a medium that we're going to use. You know they stream about four billion videos a day. So we're going to tweet messages. And we're going to continue to produce more commercials. And hopefully we don't have to go to scare tactic videos.

But we just want people to be more responsible. We're not telling them to cut all the way down. We just -- we're like, if you're is going take that fourth, fifth and sixth drink, you have to be responsible enough to say hey my friend that wasn't drinking, give him the keys let him drive home. You know if you're going to be out partying at a campus, everyone shouldn't drink. You just have to be smart and make the right choice.

COSTELLO: Some people believe the answer is to lower the drinking age to take this rebellion thing that goes along with drinking away, to make it, you know, not so much of a secret, sneaky thing that you do when you go to college. Is that the right move to lower the drinking age? Would that work?

O'NEAL: I think the answer is everyone being more conscious and being more responsible. I think that's the answer. You know we have to -- we have to be conscious enough to say, you know what? I'm feeling a little buzz. I don't want to go overboard. Oh I'm feeling a buzz, let me call my friend who I know who has not been drinking, tell him to come pick me up and go. So I think it will be more conscious and responsible that you know we just have to eliminate this problem.

COSTELLO: Shaquille O'Neal thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

O'NEAL: Thank you. All right.

COSTELLO: We're going to take a break and hopefully we'll come back with more news out of Sudan and we'll also talk about that too.

Much lesser story, obviously. Kate Middleton caught, well you already know. We'll talk about that too.

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COSTELLO: A French magazine has published photos of Kate Middleton sunbathing topless. Now the palace is furious calling it an invasion of privacy. A.J. Hammer host of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT". This hurts me. You know how much I love her.

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes this is unbelievable. Once again, a private royal moment has been splashed all over the pages of a tabloid. But Carol unlike the recent photos we saw of Prince Harry I don't think anybody at all believes that Kate Middleton was acting in any way inappropriately in this case.

She was in a French chateau, she was on what she clearly thought was a private balcony with her husband. She was sunbathing topless. Well a photographer used what appears to be very strong telescopic lens to obtain these somewhat blurry photos. The royal family as we said predictably outraged over the release of the shot.

A spokesman for Saint James Palace says that William and Kathryn were "hugely saddened to learn that a French publication and a photographer have invaded their privacy in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner." And he added, "The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to The Duke and Duchess for being so."

And this is what's even more egregious to me, for their part, the publisher of the French magazine "Closer" which published the photos says that the magazine was just doing its job and they think that the pictures simply depict a couple in love and are not degrading.

Carol it sounds to me like they are missing the whole invasion of privacy thing.

COSTELLO: Yes I think so and she is so nice that they can read the minds of The Duke and Duchess.

The other weird part about this story is in France they have really strict privacy laws.

HAMMER: Yes. It is surprising to see this happening and whether or not there will be any more fallout remains to be seen. But I don't get why they think it's ok in any way to put photos like this in a magazine obtained this way in particular.

COSTELLO: Oh it's just a shame.

Ok let's talk about "Saturday Night Live". I guess the big premier, the first season show comes this Saturday. And they are making some changes. Tell us about it.

HAMMER: Yes. Yes well, President Obama is being replaced, Carol. The role of the President, of course, formerly played by Fred Armisen on SNL is now going to be played by cast member Jay Farrow. Farrow has been on the show for a couple of seasons. I think he's a great pick for the role. You have to check out some of the really funny Obama impressions that he does as part of his stand up acts. You can find those online.

And this is a very important role for "Saturday Night Live". Historically you know some of the most memorable highlights from the show have involved political impressions. Think about Will Ferrell as George W. Bush, Dana Carvey as Bush Senior, Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford, Dan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter.

As for Obama's opponent this year the role of Mitt Romney will still be played by the great, the very funny Jason Sudeikis. I have a feeling those characters will be getting an awful lot of use in the next couple of months here and particularly this weekend.

COSTELLO: I know. I can't wait to watch. A.J. Hammer, thanks so much.

HAMMER: You got it.

COSTELLO: Join A.J. on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" 11:00 Eastern on HLN.

Choosing to start a family -- we'll be chatting with an author who thinks many women should ignore the pressures and rethink their decision to have children.

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COSTELLO: 45 minutes past the hour.

The decision to have children can be a difficult one. But do couples make that decision as a personal choice or is it more from cultural pressure? Can women have it all -- the challenging job, the ideal family or have expectations surpassed reality?

Joining me now is feminist writer and blogger, Jessica Valenti author of a brand new book titled, "Why Have Kids?" Welcome Jessica.

JESSICA VALENTI, AUTHOR, "WHY HAVE KIDS": Hi, Carol. Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: Oh, I can't wait to talk to you because the title of your book struck me because I'm one of the few women in America my age who chose not have children and sometimes it's uncomfortable.

VALENTI: Yes. I think it is very uncomfortable for a lot of women who choose not to have children, the kind of default expectation that we have for people especially for women is that they all want children. And that if they don't have children something must be wrong. Why did you make that choice? And they are constantly questioned about that decision in a way that people who do have children are never questioned.

COSTELLO: Actually, do I feel that way at times and sometimes I feel that the criticism is justified that I chose not to have children because I was selfish or I'm not fulfilling, you know, some requirement that I have as a woman. Why do women feel that way?

VALENTI: You know, I think there is a cultural expectation for women that our value and worth comes in being a mother which is unfortunate. Being a mother is a wonderful thing, I have a 2-year-old daughter, you know, she's the best thing in my life. But the expectation that that's what we should do is certainly not helpful for anyone.

And the expectation that once we do have children that it's going to be most wonderful, fulfilling, amazing thing in our lives is also an expectation that's not necessarily helpful for a lot of parent because as a lot of us who are parents know there are a ton of challenges that come with having children as well.

COSTELLO: You know, I have so many -- I have such admiration for women who can do it all because I have a lot of friends who make it took so easy and I wonder how do you do that? VALENTI: You know, I think a lot of people are asking that question, but I think that most Americans are not just struggling to have it all, they are struggling just to have enough. You know. We need to think about the ideal of parenting versus the reality of parenting. And we don't really see the reality of parenting in a lot of the popular narratives about motherhood unfortunately.

Most of us are not Marissa Mayer. Most of us are not going to breast feed our toddler on the cover of "Time" magazine. Most of us are just trying to get through the day. And I think we really need to have a conversation about that and that's what I hope this book will do.

COSTELLO: Jessica Valenti, thank you so much for being with us today. We appreciate it.

VALENTI: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Sometimes you just need a little help from a stranger. One Ohio man ends up getting help from someone he does not know twice. But it doesn't go so well for the Good Samaritan.

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COSTELLO: Stress is something we all experience at work and at home but it's not always bad for you. Dr. Travis Stork from TV's "The Doctors" help us know the difference in this "Daily Dose".

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DR. TRAVIS STORK, "THE DOCTORS": Well, there's acute stress and there's chronic stress. Acute stress is that adrenaline surge that you feel when taking a really important test or you're about to give a speech in front of other people. That can help you focus. Acute stress can be a good thing.

But too many people in our society are dealing with chronic stress. Over time chronic stress causes your body to release more and more cortisol. That can decrease your immune function. That can even lead to more obesity, poor sleep, high blood pressure.

So chronic stress can truly negatively affect our health. There's never anything where the mind/body connection is more apparent than when it comes to chronic stress. So if you're feeling chronically stressed out. You do need to get help because you're doing damage to your body.

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COSTELLO: All right. We're getting -- and these are live streaming pictures, which kind of explains the quality but these pictures are from the country of Tunisia, from the capital there. Tunisia is west of Libya. There have been anti-American protests here too.

We understand that Tunisian protesters have now breached the U.S. Embassy in Tunis. They lowered the American flag from its pole and they are raising the black flag of the protesters in its place. This is according to an eyewitness.

There are, there is some evidence that police, Tunisian police or Tunisian government authorities are on the scene trying to control these protesters. Of course, you can see that thick black smoke rising there. We're not exactly sure what that is. All we know that they managed to lower the American flag from its pole at the U.S. embassy in Tunisia.

When we get more information, of course, we'll pass it along.

We've got to take a break though. We'll come back.

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COSTELLO: Singer Chris Brown is getting a lot of ink all over his new tattoo, the one on his neck. Many people say it looks like Rihanna, the fellow singer and former flame that he infamously abused.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris Brown's people say it was a case of mistaken identity. The identity of a tattoo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that Rihanna's face.

MOOS: A tattoo spotted on Chris Brown's neck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The eyes are Rihanna's eyes.

MOOS: His former girlfriend, who even now tells Oprah --

RIHANNA, SINGER: He was the love of my life. And he was the first love.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like the Rihanna that he beat up.

MOOS: It looked so much like battered Rihanna that even after Brown's representative said it wasn't her, just a random woman, even then when TMZ asked readers about Chris's tat three-quarters said it was definitely Rihanna.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's creepy. It's gross.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It strikes me as sick.

MOOS: Just the idea that Brown would have the tattoo of a battered woman on his neck prompted tweets like "The end is near, folks. Stockpile water and bullets."

But one young woman we spoke with looked at the tattoo and saw something different.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A skeleton, maybe. MOOS: And sure enough by mid-afternoon Chris Brown's rep said his tattoo is a sugar skull, similar to skulls made out of sugar to honor departed souls on Mexico's day of the dead. The rep described the tattoo as a sugar skull based on a mask cosmetics design. They even released the design that Brown is said to have given to the tattoo artist. As for all the flack Brown got when most folks thought it was Rihanna --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on Chris Brown you know better than this. I know your mother taught you better than that. that's what I want to say too -- even though I love you.

MOOS: Now, she can love him again even for Chris Brown wearing a battered woman tattoo seemed like sticking his neck out too far.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on Chris Brown get your life together.

MOOS: New York.

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COSTELLO: Yes. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me today.

"CNN NEWSROOM" continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Carol Costello, thanks very much.

Hi everybody. It is 11:00 on the East Coast. It's 8:00 a.m. on the West Coast and we begin with this violent protest worldwide over an anti-Muslim film made here in the United States. All of this erupting for the fourth straight day across the Middle East and North Africa and beyond. And so far the demonstrators have taken to the streets in Egypt, in Lebanon, in Tunisia, in Yemen, in Sudan.

Friday by the way is a day of prayer in the Muslim world and as we have often seen it is the catalyst that drives many protesters straight into the streets.

Let me start with some of the latest pictures that we've been getting out of Tunisia. Anti-American protests continuing there. Riot police firing tear gas at rock-throwing protesters who were marching on the U.S. embassy. They've breached the wall of the U.S. embassy. They tore down the U.S. flag of our embassy. And also hoisted a black flag oftentimes symbolic of the far radical wing of Islam and oftentimes al Qaeda as well.