Steve and Lorraine discuss the primaries

It's the week in review, and audience members and viewers are speaking out about anything and everything!

On May 6, 2008, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama competed for votes in the North Carolina and Indiana Democratic primaries. "I'm a little groggy because I didn't go to bed until 1 o'clock in the morning. Gayle kept calling me wanting to talk [about the primaries]," Oprah says. "It's got everyone talking today, and I'm going to keep my opinions to myself. So let's talk to the audience."

Audience member Steve is a Senator Clinton supporter who is thrilled with her victory in Indiana. "I am just so excited that she has been so strong and continued to persevere in terms of this race. I think she's the stronger of the two candidates from her experience level and her ability to deal with foreign policy issues. I think she's the stronger candidate to beat the Republicans in the presidential election," he says. "However, I think it would be great if [Clinton and Obama] came together and formed a ticket and lead this country into the future."

Lorraine, another audience member, is behind Senator Obama all the way and proud of his North Carolina victory. "Finally, somebody who listens, who hears what is happening. ... He's not just saying things to get elected. I think that's what he stands for," Lorraine says. "Everybody in my family is excited. ... We're driving around with bumper stickers on our car—something we've never done before."
Ali Wentworth, Gayle King and Mark Consuelos

Also weighing in on this week's events are three smart, outspoken people with very strong opinions—Ali Wentworth, Gayle King and Mark Consuelos. "I know this group is bound to stir some things up," Oprah says.

You may know actress Ali Wentworth from her memorable roles in Seinfeld and Office Space. She's married to ABC News's George Stephanopoulos and has two daughters.

Gayle King joins Oprah from her office at O, The Oprah Magazine in New York City. "I say all the time, I don't watch a lot of TV," Oprah says. "I don't have to because Gayle is like a human TiVo. She watches everything."

Mark Consuelos has made women swoon as a star on All My Children, but make no mistake—he's a man's man. Mark is married to talk show host Kelly Ripa. Together, they have three children.
Mariah Carey

When Mariah Carey made her April 14, 2008, Oprah Show appearance, she opened up about how she got her new body, what inspired her new album and what it felt like to break Elvis's record for number one hits. What she didn't mention, however, was her relationship with actor Nick Cannon.

Now, the couple is confirming the rumors that have been swirling. On April 30, 2008, Mariah and Nick married in a secret sunset ceremony in the Bahamas.

After her show with Mariah, Oprah went backstage to visit with Mariah in the green room. "She says to me, 'Oprah, did you say hello to Nick?' I said, 'Oh, hi, Nick,'" Oprah says. "Little did I know I should have paid more attention to the situation."

Just a week before the wedding, Gayle interviewed Mariah on her XM Radio show and says Mariah confessed off-air that she was dating Nick. Still, Gayle says she doesn't think even Mariah knew at that time she would get married. But Oprah has a scoop for Gayle! "[She had] the tattoo on her back that said 'Mrs. Cannon,'" Oprah says. "So they were already planning on doing it."

Mark says he isn't surprised. "I eloped. We went to Vegas and got married in a phone booth by Elvis Presley. So nothing surprises me," he says. "I wish them a lot of luck. And you know what the funny thing is? Afterward, we got tattoos as well. But mine doesn't say Mrs. Cannon."

Gayle says the 11-year age difference between Mariah and Nick doesn't matter. "I love the older woman-younger man thing. ... Mariah told me herself that she has never felt this way about anybody before in her whole life," Gayle says.

The only thing that concerns Gayle is that Mariah and Nick married so quickly. Ali says that doesn't matter. "George and I were engaged after two months, and every day is Christmas here at the Stephanopoulos house," she says. "By the way, you should see my tattoo. Try to get the tattoo 'Stephanopoulos' on your body."

Regardless, everyone shares the same message for Mariah and Nick. "Bottom line is, we wish them the best," Oprah says.
The Tom Cruise Interviews

Oprah's one-on-one interview with Tom Cruise has been getting a lot of media attention—not to mention e-mail!

Ali says she had a pit in her stomach watching the show. "I mean, I felt for you, [Oprah]," she says. "I just thought, 'Wow, you're going to go up there to that mountaintop, and you're going to ask him all the questions that everybody else has been thinking.'"

Ali also knows Tom personally. "I had a small part in Jerry Maguire, but it was a part where Tom and I sat next to each other for 10 days straight. And I'm telling you, he is the kindest man," she says. "He's very genuine, and I felt the interview you had with him really captured that. There was a moment when you're standing on the mountaintop with him, and you say, 'This is absolutely beautiful,' and he put his arm around you and he whispered, 'Thank you' and he gave you a kiss on your head, and I thought, 'That's Tom Cruise right there in that moment.'"

Mark says he watched Oprah's one-on-one interview and the follow-up show celebrating Tom's starring roles with Tom and thought he came across very well. "I thought how he was communicating was good," he says.

Mark says he was also moved when Jamie Foxx told the audience that the rumors and gossip do affect Tom. Gayle agrees. "I've always found him to be kind, very charismatic and a very loving man, and I think he gave it up to you, Oprah. He didn't try to dodge anything that you asked him. And I felt that he showed a vulnerability that we've never seen before that to me was very endearing," Gayle says. "And for everybody who had any doubts about Tom Cruise, I think they say, 'Okay, I see. I see what happened. I see who he is.'"
Marianne and Melody on the Tom Cruise interview

Marianne, a viewer from California, says she had never been a Tom Cruise fan—until she watched the interview. "I gained a lot of respect for him," Marianne says. "I really felt he was a human being in your interview, and he showed in his face that family and friends is what he cared about most in life, and he stood up and claimed what is his truth in life."

Before the interview aired, Melody, a viewer from Oklahoma, says she was hoping Tom would "fall flat on his face." During the interview, however, Melody changed her mind. "When he talked about his family, I was moved," she says. "His explanation on the sonogram machine made complete sense. I've had two children, and I wouldn't want my medical records on the Internet or in the press, and so I think he did right by his wife by buying that machine and bringing the doctor to his place so that they could have private visits."

Before moving on from the Tom Cruise interview, Ali has one last question for Mark: "Have you ever slid across the floor in your underwear and socks and done that Risky Business dance?"

"In more places than one," Mark jokes.

Mark also has a question for Ali. "If you could have had a sonogram in your house, would you have?"

"No, Mark, I wouldn't have had a sonogram in my house," Ali jokes. "I would have had a surrogate in my house."
Vicki on the polygamy raid

In October 2007, a polygamist family appeared on the show to dispel some of the myths about plural marriages. Since that show, a West Texas polygamist compound founded by Warren Jeffs was raided after a 16-year-old girl reported being abused by her older husband in an arranged marriage. Child Protective Services removed 416 children from the compound. Of the more than 50 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 taken into custody, authorities say 31 were pregnant or had given birth.

Vicki, one of the wives we met in October, is here to share her opinion about what happened in Texas. She says she worries about the psychological trauma these children could face. "I just feel like they should have been [investigated] on a case-by-case basis. Take out the people who really were the perpetrators," she says. "It seems to me you're harming the victims. I understand and realize there's a very real possibility of abuse, but I feel the trauma to the people who are victims is even worse now. I think that they should have maybe offered some sort of mandatory counseling or therapy for all the people and leave them in their homes."
CNN reporter David Mattingly

CNN correspondent David Mattingly was the first journalist to report live from inside the compound in Texas. So why did the state remove the children from the compound? "The state had no idea, really, what they were getting into when they went into that compound," he says. "When they got up in there, the state investigators say that they found multiple teenage girls who had been married, who had been pregnant. They found that the scope of this was a lot more than just this one girl."

David says investigators removed all children because they found the kids had been conditioned from an early age. "They uncovered what the state says they believed to be a pattern in which girls were conditioned at an early age to marry and to accept sexual relations with older adult men," he says. "The state's rationale here was that the boys were also being conditioned too, when they were adults, to accept marriages with these young girls and potentially become participants in this alleged abuse."

Although mothers were allowed to accompany their children at first, David says many of the mothers have since been sent home. "A couple of weeks ago, the mothers were told that they could go home and that the children were being taken away from them and moved to three separate facilities," he says. "They did that because they felt like the mothers were possibly coaching them. They weren't getting straight answers about who their parents might be, who their fathers might be, and possibly impeding their investigation."

The children are now living at group homes throughout Texas. David says the state took special care to make sure brothers and sisters stayed together. "They felt that would be bad. [It's] a very alien environment for them, so they're keeping them together so that they can support each other."

This case won't see resolution anytime soon, David says. "The scope of this case is unprecedented," he says. "They say everything's big in Texas. The state of Texas never saw anything this big when it comes to child protection."

See what happened when Oprah Show correspondent Lisa Ling was allowed inside the compound.
Professor Randy Pausch

In October 2007, Dr. Oz introduced viewers to Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and father of three who was dying of pancreatic cancer. His "last lecture"—a discourse on his life, lessons and dreams—has become an Internet sensation watched by millions around the world. He recently became a best-selling author with a book called The Last Lecture and was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.

While Randy says his publishers have been very excited about the book's success, he is most happy about how it has touched people. "So many parents that I've talked to have used either the lecture or the book as a way to start conversations with their own kids," Randy says. "That's a very gratifying thing to hear."

Randy says his health has recently taken a hit. Two months ago, he had congestive heart failure and kidney failure. "That took some of the wind out of my sails. I'm still recovering from that, and I have dropped some weight," he says. "But I'm still walking around. I don't have nearly as much energy as I'd like to, but that's sort of the general state."
Dr. Oz

Dr. Oz says while Randy's kidneys and heart are functioning at about one-third of the normal amount, he is happy to see that he hasn't lost his trademark sense of humor. "He says, 'Yeah, my kidneys and my heart aren't working, but it's just a flesh wound,'" Dr. Oz says.

Dr. Oz says he also asked Randy if he's had any regrets while fighting pancreatic cancer for two years. "A couple days ago, you said, 'Well, I regret I didn't find a cure to cancer.' And if I wasn't laughing, I'd be crying," Dr. Oz says. "The biggest lesson of all for a lot of us as we've gotten to know you, Randy, is that hope is not about a good outcome. Hope is about making sense of what's going on in life. And, Randy, you've shined a very bright light on a deep, narrow, dark ravine that we have to go through at the end of our lives—a beautiful part of our human existence that we often forget about. Thank you."

Randy thanks everyone who has kept him and his family in their thoughts and prayers. He and his wife have not yet told their children about his condition, however. So if you see happen to see Randy and his family, he asks that you respect their privacy.
Ali Wentworth, Gayle King and Mark Consuelos talk about Barbara Walters

In an interview, legendary television journalist Barbara Walters dropped the bombshell that she had a two-year affair with a married man—the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction. Barbara said she regretted that the affair ended up costing him his Senate seat, but she didn't regret the affair. "No, it was wonderful," Barbara said.

Oprah's panel has a lot to say about this!

"I just think it's kind of cool that she's into the brothers," Mark jokes. "Being a dark-skinned guy myself, I'm glad I didn't have an affair with her because then we'd be reading about it now!"

"I was just like you, Mark. I was surprised Barbara likes chocolate so much," Gayle says. "I was so glad to see it. I said, 'You go Barbara.'"

Ali jokes, "I was actually curious if there is actually 'the one' she would take to the grave that she's not telling? Is the senator, which is provocative in itself, a great story...and she's keeping the affair with Castro a secret?"
Checking in at Salon Roshawn

Oprah says she doesn't need to assemble focus groups to know what her fans think. Instead, she relies on the ladies at Salon Roshawn, Gayle's beauty salon in Connecticut. "They watch The Oprah Show every day and always have an opinion," Oprah says.

What did Roshawn think of the Barbara Walters interview? "All I can say is Barbara Walters was gangsta with her interview, okay?" she says. "She told it all. She held nothing back."

Eddie Mae, one of the patrons at Salon Roshawn, saw that interview too. "Barbara's my girl, I like her very much, but I sort of thought myself, 'You know, I think I would have kept that to myself.'"

They also watched David Blaine set a world record by holding his breath underwater for more than 17 minutes. "I said, 'Lord, please don't let that boy die on Oprah," Roshawn says. "Because you know they're going to find a way to blame her."
Gayle danced with George Clooney

In the middle of today's show, Gayle has to slip away for a very important meeting in Hearst Tower, home of O, The Oprah Magazine and Esquire magazine. Gayle says Esquire asked her to be one of 10 women they needed to dance with George Clooney. "We get to dance with George for two to three minutes," Gayle says. After going back and forth between Oprah and George, Gayle said, "Bye-bye, Oprah!"

When she returns, everyone wants to know how her date went. Gayle says after eating three Altoids to make sure her breath was completely fresh, she was ready for the big dance. "George was delightful," she says. "He said, 'Tell Oprah hello.'"
Oprah interviews Cher and Tina Turner

Tune in tomorrow for a spectacular history-making event. Oprah interviews two living legends—Cher and Tina Turner in Las Vegas! 

"We had such a great time. You'll be dancing in your living room," Oprah says. "It really is a once-in-a-lifetime event."

"Oprah, to see you, Cher and Tina together was really inspiring," Gayle says. "I was there, and I can't wait to see the show."

Read Oprah's special update about legislation in Pennsylvania to fight puppy mills.