Candidate Puts a Curse on Voters
COSTELLO: Fifty-two minutes past the hour, time to check our top stories. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died. She suffered a stroke. Known as the iron lady, she was the first woman to become Britain's Prime minister. The man who has the job now David Cameron says they lost a great leader, a great prime minister, and a great Britain. Thatcher was 87. A kayaker in northern California is credited with helping save a family of five. He was right there when their SUV veered off a road and into the river. He got the three children to safety first. And then he went back in for the parents. It also helped that a fire crew got to the scene within minutes. Politics can get a little strange at times. In Venezuela, the acting president Nicolas Maduro said he will put a curse on anybody who does not vote on him in next week's election to replace the late Hugo Chavez. Oh, who else could tell this story but Zain Verjee?</s>ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Imagine if Barack Obama's campaign slogan was "Vote for me or I will curse you?" Well, it probably wouldn't have gone down very well, but someone has to try it, right? Well, this man Nicolas Maduro told a crowd of Venezuelan voters that a big curse would fall on them if they don't pick him. He is running for president there after Hugo Chavez died last month. Now, Carol, it is not just any old curse. It's the famous curse called the Mara Capana -- it goes like that. No, it doesn't. It actually dates back to the 16th century when the Spanish soldiers killed thousands of native people. So what he is doing is implying that anyone who doesn't vote for him will actually be destroyed. His main rival, Enrique Capriles had his own comeback saying that the only curse would be if Maduro won the election. We're yet to see if this curse works. I'll update you in a few weeks -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: This is so much more pleasant, isn't it? It's the country Grammys. The academy of country -- the Academy of Country Music Awards that were handed out in Las Vegas last night. Co-host Luke Bryan won the big award, "Entertainer of the Year". He beat out some familiar favorites like my favorite Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, and Miranda Lambert, although Lambert won three honors, including "Female Artist of the year for song" and "record of the year". For those who were not really into basketball but are into all of the excitement surrounding basketball, the NCAA's big dance concert series provided free entertainment to thousands of people. Massive crowds packed Atlanta Centennial Park for big acts like Ludacris, Sting, Dave Matthews and the popular British band and personal favorite, Muse. In the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, Congress returns to the Hill today. Will they take up any gun control pill? Jeffrey Toobin weighs in.